Restorative Aquaculture Opportunity Index: Shellfish

A man wades through calf-deep water, carrying a bag of oysters.
Oyster farming Swell Oyster Co. in Hampton, New Hampshire. © TNC/Hannah Packman

This interactive webmap enables users to explore regions where shellfish aquaculture has the potential to simultaneously advance coastal ecosystem recovery and provide substantive benefits to humanity.

To identify marine ecoregions with the greatest potential for development of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture to meet this opportunity, we conducted a global spatial analysis using key environmental (e.g., nutrient pollution status), socioeconomic (e.g., governance quality), and human health factors (e.g., wastewater treatment prevalence). The results provide insights into specific areas where governments, international development organizations, and investors should prioritize new efforts to drive changes in public policy, capacity-building, and business planning to realize the ecosystem and societal benefits of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture.

Want to learn more?

Access the tool here