The story I want to share is about Cedar Key's aquaculture industry, specifically clam farming. Clam farming is a key factor in Cedar Key’s stable and sustainable economy, and a key factor in Cedar Key’s aquaculture industry are the protected landscapes that surround it. Many of these images you see here are from a project I’m working on in partnership with the Cedar Key Aquaculture Association and the Legacy Institute for Nature & Culture. The goal of the project is to create a magazine-style brochure that educates non-residents of Cedar Key about the community they are visiting, and in some cases investing in. The theme we want to resonate with our target audience is that Cedar Key’s heritage and economy are rooted in the natural resources that surround it.
Clam farming in Cedar Key was non-existant 15 years ago. The state’s net ban virtually wiped out the commercial fishing industry. From the death of that industry, another industry was born.
According to the Cedar Key Aquaculture Association there are 250 businesses that grow clams in the rich substrate off the Levy and Dixie county coastlines on a total of 980 submerged acres that are leased from the state. Twenty-two wholesalers operate in the area, processing up to 150 million clams per year worth approximately $15 million. However, because of a multiplier effect produced by the industry itself, that $15 million gets spent and re-spent, increasing the overall economic impact from $15 million to 24 million.
This is a win-win situation for residents of Cedar Key. Clams are filter feeders helping to clean the water they are grown in. And because the people of Cedar Key rely on the industry, they take extra care to make sure they are not putting more waste into the water than they absolutely must. In 2001, Cedar Key became completely independent of septic systems, which the entire town relied on. Furthermore, Cedar Key would not be what it is today without being surrounded by substantial protected natural resources. The Lower Suwannee, Cedar Key Scrub State Preserve, The Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge and the Waccasassa Bay State Preserve virtually surround Cedar Key. In addition, one of Florida Forever’s top 21 acquisition projects is the Caber Coastal Connector, which will link into one contiguous protected corridor all of the above mentioned protected lands.
One of the goals of the Nature Coast Coalition is to ensure that all the communities along the Nature Coast are surrounded by protected lands, and that we foster within the general public a sense that stewardship of the landscape will bring about long-term economic vitality. With a willingness to collaborate, creative thinking, and a wealth of Nature as the foundation, any community along the Nature Coast can emulate Cedar Key’s success in their own way.
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Conservation 
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