UF IFAS Shellfish Aquaculture Extension

05/22/2026

The Clam Sculpture Trail is expanding in Cedar Key with 5 more arriving this week for local artists to paint. To learn more, visit Florida Big Bend Shellfish Trail.
Cedar Key Aquaculture Association

04/28/2026

The Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory hosted its biennial Open House this past Saturday. This event served as a platform to engage the public about aquaculture of clams and oysters in the Florida Panhandle.

04/24/2026

UF/IFAS Shellfish Extension will be there? How about you?

04/13/2026

A great opportunity for members of the Cedar Key Aquaculture Association to inform visitors about clam farming at the Cedar Key Arts Festival this past weekend.

03/13/2026

Flavors of Florida, the premier UF/IFAS tasting showcase event, celebrated its 11th year of highlighting the state’s signature and emerging flavors. This year the event showcased Florida seafood. Shellfish Extension took the opportunity to highlight Florida’s diverse oyster aquaculture industry with farmed product from Sebastian to Pensacola. We also served oysters on the half shelf from Cedar Key to an appreciative crowd, including Albert the alligator 🦪🐊

03/12/2026

https://www.flseagrant.org/leslie-sturmer-receives-honorary-recognition-for-shaping-floridas-oyster-industry-at-2026-oyster-south/

Leslie Sturmer Receives Honorary Recognition for Shaping Florida’s Oyster Industry at 2026 Oyster SouthBy Sarisha Boodoo on March 9, 2026 Hardware store sign in Cedar Key promotes aquaculture and boating supplies. Image from Bill Walton. When you walk into a hardware store in Cedar Key, you might ...

03/04/2026

A good story from a Cedar Key second generation clam farmer.

Clam farmers deliver valuable ecosystem services by installing one of nature’s water filtration systems.

02/06/2026

Florida showed up for the 9th Annual Oyster South Symposium! Many of our growers participated in panels and talks and we were able to hand out educational materials to other growers as well. 🤠🦪

Leslie received the Jules Melancon Award for making significant contributions to the oyster aquaculture community in the south, congrats Leslie! 👏🎉

12/23/2025

Wishing all of our Florida shellfish growers and lovers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/09/2025

Yesterday we spent the morning with four new freshman from the Cedar Key High School SALT program. Students stocked and planted clam seed provided by UF from an ongoing research project studying clams genetically selected for increased thermal tolerance. It was a chilly morning but the students donned their waders to face the cold waters. Go Sharks!

12/01/2025

We had some beautiful days sampling at our east coast growers before the Thanksgiving holiday for our Regional Oyster FARMS project. The oysters are growing well and we're looking forward to see how our oysters in the panhandle are doing for our upcoming site visits this month.