2013 Aquaculture report shows significant growth in farm-gate value

Number of shellfish farms on the rise

March 27, 2014, Wakefield –The aquaculture industry in Rhode Island continued to grow, making steady progress in 2013, according to the Coastal Resources Management Council’s annual status report, “Aquaculture in Rhode Island.”

In 2013, the farm gate value (the value for the product paid to the farmer) of the state’s aquaculture products increased an impressive 48.7 percent, from approximately $2.5 million in 2012 to more than $4 million ($4,204,656).

The number of farms and total acreage also increased, from 50 to 52 farms, and from 172.55 to 176.55 acres, a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year. Oysters remain the aquaculture product of choice in the state, with more than 6 million sold for consumption, up approximately two million from last year, and a 100 percent increase from the nearly 3 million reported in 2009. Oyster seed sales from Rhode Island aquaculturists was valued at $180,500 in 2013.

Two limited term commercial viability projects were permitted, one in Quonochontaug Pond and one in Point Judith Pond, and two new farms were permitted. One began production in 2013, and the other will begin in 2014.

Statewide, there are 52 farms in operation, covering a total of 176.55 acres in all Rhode Island waters. Of that acreage, Narragansett Bay and Block Island represent 0.1 percent of the total, with 94.85 acres of aquaculture in 87,723 acres total. Currently, there exists 81.7 acres of aquaculture in the 3,963.70 acres in the South Coast ponds, 2.0 percent of the area of the four ponds. The full report is available at the CRMC’s web site, www.crmc.ri.gov, under Aquaculture.