Hard clam (Mercenaria spp.) aquaculture in Florida, USA: geographic information system applications to lease site selection

The aquaculture industry continues its worldwide growth pattern, and in Florida USA development of this industry is fully supported by state governmental entities. The information base for husbandry and marketing of aquaculture products is well established, but less information is available for determining appropriate locations for aquaculture operations. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach for identifying appropriate sites for aquaculture grow-out, derived from the work on hard clam (Mercenaria spp.) aquaculture lease site selection in Florida but applicable to any aquaculture product requiring field grow-out, is described. First the application of the methodology in the Indian River lagoon on the east central coast of Florida, where clam aquaculture operations have been extant for over a decade, is discussed. It is then shown how this technology can be transferred to Charlotte Harbor, Florida, an estuary where hard clam aquaculture operations are in the incipient phase of development. In Charlotte Harbor, a 6321 ha subset of the estuary is identified that appears suited for hard clam aquaculture, dependent upon additional surveys that can be specifically targeted to the sites identified. Thus, the effort required for site-specific surveys is considerably reduced by eliminating much unsuitable area. In summary the biological and management implications of this approach to lease site allocation for hard clams and other suitable species are considered.