ABC Clam Breeding

Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center

Home > ABC > Clam Breeding

Research Projects

Non-Native Oysters

ABC Clam Breeding Project

ABC's Clam Breeding Project, or CBP, supports a healthy and robust $15-million-per-year clam aquaculture industry in Virginia. The goal of CBP is to make available to commercial hatcheries clam brood stocks that are faster growing, disease tolerant, and more uniform. The Virginia hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) aquaculture industry is largely a product of earlier developmental work by VIMS and in particular Mike Castagna. ABC seeks to continue this industry interaction by improving brood stocks of hard clams and to make specialized brood stocks available to commercial hatcheries.