Shellfish farming is highly dynamic, characterized by uncertainty, time-sensitive situations, and a wide range of tasks that vary daily. Despite effort to enhance farming practices and grow-out management—evident by the wide array of equipment on the market and the numerous booths at conference trade shows—there are limited documented assessments in both number and scope on the daily responsibilities, challenges, and needs of the managers navigating everyday farming demands (Dale 2004, Getchis 2005, Forbes 2021, Green et al. 2023). In this study, we conducted a US-wide survey of shellfish farm managers to comprehensively understand the key processes and perceptions related to operational deficiencies, management goals, and technology adoption in daily farm production.
In July 2024, we distributed a 37-question needs assessment survey to farm managers across all 22 US shellfish-producing states and territories. Questions focused on four areas: day-to-day farm management stressors, Sudden and Unusual Mortality Syndrome (SUMS), inventory management, and
Figure 1. Mean stress ratings (mean ± 95% CI) across all responding states for 11 aspects of daily farm management (n = 221).
technology adoption. Over three months, we received 191 complete and an additional 52 partial responses (estimated response rate of 14.4%). Respondents represented farms of varied practices, sizes, species, and tenure. SUMS emerged as a leading management stressor (Fig 1), with 126 respondents reporting at least one event since 2020. While shellfish farm inventories are both extensive and dynamic, farmers overwhelmingly rely on paper and memory as record-keeping tools. Expectedly, farmers record basic inventory information, but intensive characteristics integral to the success of farming operations (e.g., interval mortality) remain largely untracked due to the analog nature of current systems. Respondents signified low barriers to adoption, with 31% adopting over $5000 of new technology in 2023, and 49% over $1,000. Together, these results establish a baseline of management priorities that can guide applied research, product development, and broader efforts to strengthen operational decision-making across the shellfish industry.