What is the size of a fish farm or shellfish farm operation?
The size of an aquaculture operation, or tenure, varies depending on the geographic location of the site. The tenure (the size of the licensed area in which the farm can operate) is much larger than the actual operating space (cages, equipment shed, staff quarters, dock, etc), which is about one-third of the size of the entire tenure. The ropes and anchors that help keep the cages, lines or bags moored to the site extend far into the tenure. Depending on the number of net cages situated at a particular location, a fish farm can vary in size from 2.8 hectares to 4.6 hectares (6.9 to 11.4 acres). A mussel tenure can vary in size depending on whether it is a seed site, seed and grow-out site or a grow-out only site. The size can range from 20 to 200 hectares (49.4 to 494.2 acres). An oyster farm can vary in size from 0.4 hectares to 40 hectares (1–100 acres).
