Bivalve aquaculture along the Atlantic Coast is dominated by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) . Continued success of bivalve aquaculture is threatened by diseases, weather fluctuations, unpredictable mortality, and the lack of crop diversit y. The Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima ) is a promising aquaculture diversification species for high-salinity (25-32) coastal waters of NJ and the Northeast . This native species exhibits fast growth but faces challenges of temperature-driven mortalities. Over the past 5 years, experiments have been done to test for the potential to select for improved thermal tolerance in seed lines, and to test growth and survival of multiple cohorts at three shallow backbay farms. Results have demonstrated the capacity to select for thermal tolerance, and that the species can be grown at shallow water sites with a relatively short turnaround to market size (50mm clams in 12 – 15 months). In ongoing experiments, we are collaborating with fishing industry partners to deepen knowledge about the potential for this species to be cultivated at commercial scales in the open ocean, and to better understand the combined impact of coastal acidification and increasing temperature (multi-stressors) to Atlantic surfclam aquaculture.