Washington aquaculture consists mainly of penned salmon, trout, clams, and oysters. Other items being farmed include sturgeon, catfish, carp, scallops, mussels, clam seed, and seaweed. The 1997 data are preliminary for the following table, and it should be noted that the 1998 data were not available at press time from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The total value for clams in 1997 increased 43 percent.
Manila clams are the most popular type of clam being harvested.
They accounted for 63 percent of the total value of clams sold. Mussels took a dramatic increase trying to keep up with the consumers demand. Pacific oysters are the dominant type of oyster produced in Washington. The aquaculture information on the following 2 pages were compiled by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trout estimates presented on the previous two pages were made by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service based on a separate survey.