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Shellfish aquaculture in the United States contributes to the global seafood supply, provides habitat and restoration opportunities, and enhances the economic sustainability of coastal communities. Most marine aquaculture production (two-thirds by value) in the United States comprises bivalve shellfish (oysters, clams, and mussels). As the marine aquaculture footprint grows, so too does the potential for negative environmental and space--use interactions. To streamline shellfish aquaculture permitting, many states have developed web-based aquaculture map viewers to communicate critical regulatory, space--use, and natural resource information. In this study, 18 state-level shellfish aquaculture map viewers were reviewed for common design approaches, important data considerations, and useful tools and functions. Key characteristics of a successful shellfish aquaculture map viewer include a user-friendly interface, instructional guidance, the ability to assess both opportunity and risk, inclusion of authoritative data, and a long-term maintenance plan for the viewer and data. The most common design approaches reviewed were Esri Web AppBuilder and Google. Viewers ranged from having 3-27 layers, with 'view orthoimagery' (94%) as the most commonly occurring function. This review provides valuable information on using map viewers and technological innovation to communicate shellfish aquaculture planning and permitting information to a variety of stakeholders. KEY WORDS: marine spatial planning, shellfish aquaculture, shellfish map viewer, review, siting, INTRODUCTION With an annual growth rate of approximately 13%, marine aquaculture is the fasting growing fisheries sector in the United States, and globally aquaculture has surpassed capture fisheries in the [...]

ABSTRACT The ubiquitous loss of natural intertidal oyster reefs and associated ecosystem services has fueled restoration efforts throughout the world. Effective restoration requires an understanding of the distribution, density, and [...]

The magnitude of negative environmental impacts generated by food production means it is now imperative we develop food systems in a way that can actively support the recovery of degraded ecosystems, while also meeting increasing demands for food and livelihoods. Aquaculture, when it utilizes the right practices and species and occurs in the right places, can strike this balance, enabling food production that supports the health of aquatic ecosystems. To ensure the efficacy of this approach, however, a clear, common understanding of the ways in which this industry can achieve this outcome is needed. This paper highlights a definition of "restorative aquaculture", identifies global principles for the use and development of restorative practices, and identifies needs for information, data, and tools that, if addressed, would greatly expand our understanding of the ways in which aquaculture and restorative activities can have positive environmental outcomes. This guidance was developed by a working group of representatives from global aquaculture, environment, economic and academic organizations. It can assist industry and government in making decisions about sustainability as well as restoration and rehabilitation strategies that intersect with aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Restoration of the native eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) has been severely hindered by the dwindling supply and rising costs of fossil and new oyster shell (OS) for use in [...]

Aquaculture can have negative environmental impacts, adding to the suite of anthropogenic stressors that challenge coastal ecosystems. However, a growing body of scientific evidence indicates that the commercial cultivation of bivalve shellfish and seaweed can deliver valuable ecosystem goods and services, including provision of new habitats for fish and mobile invertebrate species. We completed a systematic literature review of studies focused on understanding habitat‐related interactions associated with bivalve and seaweed aquaculture, and a brief meta‐analysis of 65 studies to evaluate fish and mobile macroinvertebrate populations at farms and reference sites. Bivalve and seaweed aquaculture were associated with higher abundance (n = 59, range: 0.05× to 473×, median lnRR = 0.67) and species richness (n = 29, range: 0.68× to 4.3×, median lnRR = 0.13) of wild, mobile macrofauna. Suspended or elevated mussel and oyster culture yielded the largest increases in wild macrofaunal abundance and species richness. We describe the major mechanisms and pathways by which bivalve and seaweed aquaculture may positively influence the structure and function of faunal communities—including provision of structured habitat, provision of food resources and enhanced reproduction and recruitment—and identify the role of the species cultivated and cultivation gear in affecting habitat value. Given the continued deterioration of coastal habitats and increasing investments into their restoration, understanding how industry activities such as aquaculture can be designed to deliver food within ecological limits and have positive influences on ecosystem goods and services is essential in ensuring ecological, social and economic objectives can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's population continues to grow, the way in which ocean industries interact with ecosystems will be key to supporting the longevity of food and social securities. Aquaculture is crucial to the future supply of seafood, but challenges associated with negative impacts could impede increased production, especially production that is efficient and safe for the environment. Using the typology established by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Initiative, we describe how marine aquaculture could be influential in supporting ecosystem services beyond solely the production of goods, through provisioning services, regulating services, habitat or supporting services, and cultural services. The provision of these services will vary, depending on functional traits of culture species, biotic and abiotic characteristics of the surrounding environment, farm design, and operational standards. Increasing recognition, understanding, and accounting of ecosystem service provision by mariculture through innovative policies, financing, and certification schemes may incentivize active delivery of benefits and may enable effects at a greater scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their response to our article (Jones et al. [5]), Jia and Chen (2022) suggest that our guidance for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mariculture may result in "enormous environmental risks." Jia and Chen (2022) state that our study underestimates GHG footprint by overlooking "invisible emissions.". [Extracted from the article]