Sarasota nonprofit secures state's first underwater aquaculture lease

The Sarasota Bay Watch is newly in the business of rearing native hard-shell clams after receiving the state’s first underwater aquaculture lease. 

The lease, which allows for clam restoration and research, provides rights to the Sarasota Bay Watch to rear and distribute native hard-shell clams. The move is expected to improve regional water quality through bivalve restoration, according to a statement. 

“In response to increasing interest in shellfish restoration activities, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Aquaculture updated language to allow Aquaculture Management Agreements to be issued to qualified entities for restoration aquaculture purposes,” Charlie Culpepper, the assistant director of FDACS's Division of Aquaculture, says in a release.