Bivalve shellfish aquaculture can provide a variety of beneficial environmental services. Removal of excess nutrients from eutrophic coastal environments by eastern oyster farms has been formally recognized by multiple nutrient management programs in the Northeastern United States. However, the aquaculture permitting framework is currently focused on potential adverse impacts to the environment and society, and consideration of potential environmental benefits remains relatively unusual. Engagement with resource managers indicated the need for simple online tools, backed by robust science, to quantify beneficial effects of farms. Managers also expressed the need for an evaluation of variation in benefits provisioning over time, space, and common cultivation practices.
The newly released Aquaculture Nutrient Removal Calculator (ANRC; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11966672). The methods used in the tool are highly transferable to other farmed bivalve shellfish species, and other regions, where sufficient data exist to support tool development.
The tool generates a report that was designed to integrate into the US Army Corps of Engineers public interest review process for new and expanding eastern oyster farms within the geographic region of existing data synthesis. Engagement is planned with the extension community, to increase awareness and use of the tool by aquaculture industry members.