NCCOS and partners areusing computer modeling to determine the carrying capacity for shellfish aquaculture - and the related potential fornutrient removal - in South Puget Sound.

The team's methodologies and guidelines will be used to inform marine spatial planning activities locally and throughout the U.S., promoting sustainable shellfish aquaculture and providing a framework for addressing issues that commonly lead to regulatory and permitting conflicts.

Pacific oysters. Credit: Taylor Shellfish Farms.

Partners on the Washington Sea Grant -funded project include NCCOS, the Pacific Shellfish Institute; Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Baywater, Inc.; the University of Washington; Washington Sea Grant; the Washington Department of Ecology; Taylor Shellfish Farms; and Washington State University.

For more information, contact: Suzanne.Bricker@noaa.gov.