Aquaculture production
of geoduck clams started in WA in the mid-1990s and increased
rapidly to 612.9 t, worth US $18.5 million, in 2010 (Washington State
Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2012). Geoduck clam farming has
become common inWA throughout Puget Sound on private tidelands
during the past decade (Washington State Department of Natural
Resources, 2014). In BC, however, commercial-scale development
of geoduck clam aquaculture and enhancement has been constrained
by the lack of a reliable seed supply from hatcheries due to high larval
mortality, indicating significant problems with the current production
strategy. A relatively small harvest of 51.7 t farmed geoduck clams,
worth CA $1.1 million, was recorded in 2010 in BC