April 21, 2015
Presented by Cary Chadwick, UConn CLEAR and Tessa Getchis, UConn Aquaculture, Shellfish Management
Shellfish aquaculture is a large and growing part of Connecticut’s agriculture sector but site selection is a major challenge. Farmers cultivate oysters, clams and scallops in designated areas of Long Island Sound. Those sites are considered public property and are leased from the state. Because these underwater farms are not located on private property, new or expanding activities are faced with a significant amount of scrutiny. Farmers need to identify growing areas that are biologically productive for their crop while also considering the potential use conflicts or environmental interactions with their activity on those sites. To help improve site selection for aquaculture, the Aquaculture Mapping Atlas was developed in partnership between the UConn CLEAR, Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. This tool provides users with access to relevant aquaculture, navigation and natural resource data layers and information. This webinar will introduce the new function and capabilities of Version 4.