The number of shellfish leases in North Carolina has increased rapidly in the past 10 years primarily because of availability of highly efficient gears and growth of the oyster and hard clam markets. This growth has enabled existing businesses to expand, new businesses to be created, and operations to move towards even higher efficiency for a given acreage. The industry has, however, met a stifling factor; North Carolina lacks a single commercial shellfish hatchery that is aimed at supplying shellfish seed to growers. The only remaining method for growers to acquire shellfish seed for their farms is to import it from other states, which requires permitting and additional shipping and pathology testing costs. Additionally, farmers in North Carolina have developed methods to grow bay scallops successfully and have begun building a market for farm raised scallops as well. Bay scallops add an additional difficulty for growth as few hatcheries in the US grow and have available seed to import into the state.
The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) permits the importation of all estuarine shellfish seed used for aquaculture. In an effort to determine the market potential for a commercial shellfish hatchery in the state, the DMF has compiled and estimated the annual shellfish seed costs from import permits over the last 5 years by species (Figure 1). The DMF has also compiled averages of shipping and pathology testing fees to determine how much the lack of an instate hatchery is costing the industry in total. The results of this analysis show the size of the shellfish industry ad its continued expansion make it a viable area for a private shellfish hatchery.