- March 28, 2024
Loading
Florida's aquaculture industry is on the rise, a new report states, thanks in part to an increase in alligator and tilapia sales.
Florida reported $68.6 million in aquaculture sales last year, according to a survey from the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. That figure, according to a News Service of Florida report, is a slight increase from the last time an industry-wide survey was done, in 2005.
There are 686 aquaculture operations in Florida, the News Service says. Only 10 of those operations are registered to sell alligators, but that segment had some of the biggest growth. In fact, alligator sales are up 100%, from $4 million in 2005 to $8 million in 2012, the report shows. Tilapia sales, meanwhile, are on the upswing too, from 18 operations that had $477,000 in sales in 2005 to 47 operations with $1.2 million in sales in 2012.
The Florida aquaculture sector is broken up between products for human consumption, which includes clams, oysters, shrimp, prawns and alligators, and ornamental fish and marine life, used in aquariums and water gardens.