ABSTRACT
The econimic assessment is based on shoreside facilities used for depuration of the hard clams, Mercenaria species in Florida during the 1980's in accord with the Comprehensive Shellfish Control Code of the state of Florida, Florida Administrative Code. Although depuration techniques may be applicable to oysters, clams and mussels, Florida rules only apply to hard clams. In addition to summarizing the "typical" costs and returns of Florida's clam depuration plants, this assessment also considers the impact of regulatory costs on the profitability of clam depuration. The major sources of information were 1989 interviews of Florida depuration plant operators, various reports and documents related to the production economics of depuration, price information provided by equipment vendors, data provided by the Florida Department of Natural Resources. Plants with capacities over 400 bushels has operated in Florida, but the analysis of the plants has not been included due to the lack of data.
