NOAA/National Marine Aquaculture Initiative (NMAI): West Coast Shellfish Aquaculture - Economic Impacts, Barriers to entry, and Opportunities for Expanded Production

Objectives:

  1. Quantify the economic impacts of commercial shellfish production.
  2. Investigate and summarize barriers to entry for shellfish aquaculture.
  3. Enhance economically sustainable shellfish production by informing policy makers, industry representatives and other stakeholders of the outcome of this research.

Approach:

Task 1: Survey WA, OR, and CA shellfish growers on revenue and expenditures (Spring 2011-Spring 2012) NEW- Complete the survey

Data collected will include: sales revenue, production volume by species and product, total payroll, number of employees, taxes, and detailed or grouped expenses. “Key informants” are currently being chosen in each state to provide detailed expenses. Remaining commercial shellfish license holders will be surveyed for grouped expenses, along with annual sales revenue, production volume, payroll and taxes. All data will be strictly confidential; identifiers will only be seen by PSI (not even the project partners.)

Task 2: Build an Input-Output model for shellfish production (Spring 2012)

Survey findings will be used to estimate a production function and build an input-output (I/O) model for WA, OR and CA shellfish aquaculture. An I/O model depicts inter-industry relations of a regional economy. It shows how the output of one industry is an input to each other industry. Once output (direct sales value) and expenditure figures are entered for each shellfish sector, the team will rely on IMPLAN® models to track the circulation of money and estimate indirect and induced impacts.

Task 3: Investigate barriers to entry for shellfish aquaculture (Fall 2011-Summer 2012)

Through group and individual discussions with shellfish farmers, identify specific challenges for continuing and/or expanding shellfish aquaculture operations. Results will: 1) characterize the molluscan aquaculture industry in WA, OR and CA; and 2) determine the legal, environmental, and/or socio-economic obstacles in each state.

Task 4: Summarize findings and provide recommendations (Fall 2012)

In this task we will summarize findings from Tasks 1-3 and provide recommendations for both shellfish growers and the regulatory bodies governing their activities. Task 4 activities will both inform local and state level planning efforts, and directly support the current national aquaculture planning process.

Progress and Results:

Conference oral presentations include:

Fact Sheets:

Project Partners:

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