The Gulf Shellfish Institute wants to plant 1.2 million southern hard clams across about 5 acres of Little Bokeelia Bay, and a committee of state environmental managers has given the nonprofit the initial go-ahead.

The institute, which supports shellfish aquaculture, is in the middle of multi-year restoration effort called All Clams on Deck, which targets seagrass and clam populations in Charlotte Harbor and Tampa and Sarasota bays.

The nonprofit believes shellfish aquaculture can clean and restore Southwest Florida’s estuaries and help invigorate its coastal economies.

Shellfish aquaculture is the farming of clams, oysters, mussels and other shellfish in coastal waters. Farmers raise them in cages, bags or marked areas until they are large enough to harvest.

The institute chose the 5-acre parcel in Little Bokeelia Bay, which is among areas off-limits to cultivation, during a snorkeling assessment in June for a project in Pine Island Sound.

“This is part of a spawner sanctuary restoration project where a high density of clams is restored with an enclosed water body to act as a source population for native hard clam restoration,”the group wrote in its application to the state. “Additionally, with high density of filter feeding organisms, water quality should improve and potentially restore seagrasses.”

After state agriculture staff recommended approval, the clam restoration was on the agenda for the September 29th meeting of Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet. The outcome was not available Thursday.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

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