Oyster farming is a substantial part of shellfish aquaculture in North America. U.S. oyster aquaculture sales reached $327.0 million in 2023, while U.S. shellfish farmers produced 28.1 million pounds of oysters. Canada reported 15,079 metric tonnes of farmed-oyster production in the same year. These figures describe different national systems and measurement units, so each period and geography matters.
Contents
- U.S. sales and farm counts
- U.S. production and supply
- State-level oyster farm sales
- Leases and producer footprint
- Canadian oyster farming
- Global mollusk aquaculture context
U.S. sales and farm counts
The USDA Census of Aquaculture records a clear expansion in U.S. oyster farming between 2013 and 2018. U.S. oyster sales were $180.15 million in 2013, and the country had 483 oyster farms. By 2018, sales had reached $284.94 million and the farm count had reached 701. These are farm-sales figures reported in $1,000-based census tables, expressed here in dollars.
The reported change from 2013 to 2018 was 58.23% for oyster sales and 86.34% for the number of farms. The farm count therefore grew faster than sales over that census interval, although these percentages are reported source figures rather than a new calculation here. The USDA table places 701 U.S. oyster farms in 2023 as well. The supplied census observations do not provide a separate 2023 national sales figure in the same table, so the 2023 value below comes from a USDA release using its own reported measure.
The USDA’s 2023 Census of Aquaculture results put U.S. oyster aquaculture sales at $327.0 million. Oyster sales represented 57% of all U.S. mollusk aquaculture sales in 2023. The USDA farm count and sales total are useful together: one describes the number of reported farms, while the other describes the value of oyster aquaculture sales. They should not be treated as an average sale per farm because the data supplied here do not establish a matching denominator, farm-size distribution, or identical reporting structure.
| U.S. measure | 2013 | 2018 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oyster sales | $180.15 million | $284.94 million | $327.0 million |
| Oyster farms | 483 | 701 | 701 |
Sources: Exploring Nationwide Oyster Aquaculture Data for the 2013, 2018, and 2023 farm observations and reported 2013–2018 and 2018–2023 changes; USDA Releases the 2023 Census of Aquaculture Results for 2023 sales and the 57% mollusk-sales share.
U.S. production and supply
Sales value does not show how much oyster supply reaches the U.S. market. NOAA’s Understanding Shellfish Aquaculture reports that U.S. shellfish farmers produced 28.1 million pounds of oysters in 2023. A separate NOAA U.S. Oyster Aquaculture Market Outlook breaks 2023 U.S. oyster supply down by weight.
Aquaculture supplied 32% of U.S. oyster supply by weight in 2023. Wild harvest supplied 26%, while imports supplied 41%. The percentages are supply shares by weight, not shares of sales value. They also describe the U.S. supply picture, not the proportion of oysters grown on farms worldwide.
The same NOAA market outlook says about 10% of U.S. farmed-oyster production was exported according to NMFS statistics. Canada consumed about $10 million worth of U.S. oysters, while the rest of Asia imported about $2.6 million worth. Hong Kong oyster imports from the United States had declined to about $3 million since 2019, describing the 2019–2023 period rather than a single independently verified annual observation.
These trade figures help put domestic production into context. Even with a 32% aquaculture share of U.S. supply by weight, the market also depends on wild harvest and imported oysters. The export figures are monetary values, whereas the 28.1 million-pound production figure and the 32%, 26%, and 41% shares use physical weight. Those measures should remain separate when interpreting the market.
State-level oyster farm sales
The USDA’s Table 19: Mollusk Sales by Species: 2023 and 2018 reports 2023 oyster-farm sales by state. Washington led the listed states with $118.331 million in sales. Virginia followed with $35.227 million, Massachusetts reported $32.272 million, and California reported $31.673 million.
The next group included Maine at $14.211 million, Louisiana at $12.686 million, Connecticut at $10.578 million, and Florida at $10.474 million. Rhode Island reported $7.952 million. Smaller reported totals included North Carolina at $1.387 million, Alabama at $932,000, and Delaware at $335,000.
| State | 2023 oyster-farm sales |
|---|---|
| Washington | $118.331 million |
| Virginia | $35.227 million |
| Massachusetts | $32.272 million |
| California | $31.673 million |
| Maine | $14.211 million |
| Louisiana | $12.686 million |
| Connecticut | $10.578 million |
| Florida | $10.474 million |
| Rhode Island | $7.952 million |
| North Carolina | $1.387 million |
| Alabama | $932,000 |
| Delaware | $335,000 |
The state sales figures show a concentrated commercial footprint. Washington’s reported sales were the highest among these states, while Delaware’s reported total was the lowest. The table is a report of state-level sales, not a ranking of oyster quality, farm profitability, production volume, or consumer demand. It also does not establish that every state with oyster activity appears in this excerpt.
The 2023 state values and the national $327.0 million USDA release figure come from related official aquaculture reporting but should not be combined into unsupported state shares. The supplied facts do not specify whether every state-level value uses exactly the same presentation, rounding, or coverage as the national release.
Leases and producer footprint
Oyster farming can occupy a much larger regulatory and geographic footprint than a farm-count table alone suggests. A NOAA nationwide oyster aquaculture index, using 2021 survey data, reported 403,943 leased acres for bivalve aquaculture in Louisiana, 136,136 leased acres in Virginia, and 34,450 leased acres in New Jersey.
The same survey reported 1,600 bivalve-aquaculture leaseholders in Virginia, 418 in Florida, and 409 in Massachusetts. It also listed approximately 80 shellfish lease applications in North Carolina, approximately 75 in Florida, and approximately 60 in Virginia. These application figures are approximate entries in the referenced state survey and should not be read as completed leases or active oyster farms.
The lease, leaseholder, and application figures are not directly comparable with USDA’s oyster-farm census count. They concern bivalve aquaculture permitting and leasing, may include species beyond oysters, and include estimates or approximate entries. In particular, Louisiana’s 403,943 leased acres and Virginia’s 136,136 leased acres describe reported leased area for bivalve aquaculture, not measured oyster-growing area alone.
Canadian oyster farming
Canada’s Fisheries 2024 report recorded 15,079 metric tonnes of farmed oysters in 2023. The reported value of Canadian farmed oyster production was CAD $66.282 million. The report listed New Brunswick as the main producing province for the 15,079 metric tonnes.
A separate Canadian species report, Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in British Columbia, reported 7,371 metric tonnes of oyster aquaculture harvest in British Columbia in 2023. That report described British Columbia’s harvest as about half of Canada’s oyster aquaculture harvest. It valued the 2023 British Columbia harvest at $16.5 million in 2024 dollars.
The Canadian figures use metric tonnes, while the U.S. production figure uses pounds. The Canadian national value is in Canadian dollars, and the British Columbia valuation is stated in 2024 dollars. These currency and unit differences prevent a direct comparison of national sales totals without additional conversion information. The province-level descriptions also come from separate Canadian reports, so their labels and valuation bases should be retained.
Global mollusk aquaculture context
The FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 provides broader context rather than an oyster-only global total. Global farmed mollusk production reached 17.7 million tonnes in 2020, with an estimated value of USD $29.8 billion. Marine and coastal aquaculture produced 68.1 million tonnes globally in 2020.
Aquatic invertebrates, mainly marine bivalves, accounted for 16.2 million tonnes of non-fed farmed animal production in 2020. This category is broader than oysters, so it should not be presented as global oyster output. FAO’s global aquaculture statistics covered 88 farmed mollusk species in its 1950–2020 species record, another indication that the worldwide mollusk category includes many species beyond oysters.
China produced 56.7% of farmed aquatic animals and 59.5% of algal farming worldwide in 2020. Those figures describe China’s position in global aquaculture and algal farming, not its share of global oyster farming. The FAO figures are therefore best used as scale and category context around oyster farming rather than as direct oyster benchmarks.
Taken together, the available statistics show three different levels of measurement: U.S. farm sales and farm counts, national and provincial production records in North America, and global mollusk or aquaculture totals. Keeping the source, geography, currency, unit, and measurement year attached to each number is essential when comparing oyster-farming data.