Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms in Florida: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms is a family-run clam farm in Cedar Key, led by Tim Solano, a second-generation clam farmer. A trade report credits it with producing more than 100 million littleneck clams a year, and it sells through Whole Foods in Florida and Costco on the East Coast, according to WUSF.
| Location | Cedar Key, Florida |
|---|---|
| Founded | Family has farmed clams since 1995 and moved to Cedar Key from Charlotte Harbor in 1998 |
| Sectors | Cultured hard-shell littleneck clams; aquaculture |
| Scale | More than 100 million clams per year per a trade report; nearly 50 acres of state-leased bottom per a 2024 report |
| Why it is notable | Part of Cedar Key, which produces over 90 percent of Florida's clams; sells to major retailers |
| Ownership | Family-owned; second-generation owner Tim Solano |
| Official website | WUSF report on Cedar Key aquaculture |
History of Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms
Cedar Key's clam industry grew out of a 1994 vote in which 71.7 percent of Florida voters approved a ban on gill nets and other entangling nets. The state gave money to former net fishermen to start aquaculture, and in 1998 about 70 of them were retrained as clam farmers with 2-acre state leases. In the first USDA aquaculture census in 1998 Florida ranked first in clams sold, and Cedar Key later added a sign calling itself the number one producer of farm-raised clams.
The Solano family has farmed clams since 1995 and moved to Cedar Key from Charlotte Harbor in 1998 for better water quality. Tim Solano, a second-generation clam farmer, owns Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms, which has since scaled to supply grocery and warehouse-club customers.
What Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms Grows and Raises
Clams begin at a hatchery, where they float in pools for about two months until they are roughly 4 mm wide. They are then moved to upwellers and planted in mesh bags on leased underwater bottom. Bags start with about 12,000 clams and are thinned to roughly 1,300 per bag after two to three months. Clams grow 10 to 15 months, depending on the size the customer wants, and are cleaned in rotating tumblers, bagged and tagged so each bag can be traced to its water area.
Farmers lease underwater areas on 10-year contracts. The farm markets its product as Cedar Key Sweet, grown in certified clean Florida waters. Solano's company is also using genetic selection to breed heat-tolerant clams, because summer water temperatures often exceed 95 degrees F and kill clams. Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 tore apart submerged bags on the family's leases, and hurricanes in 2023 and 2024 damaged the island and nearby leases.
How Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms Makes Money
Retail and warehouse-club supply
The farm's main customers are Whole Foods in Florida and Costco on the East Coast. Reliable, traceable supply for large buyers is the core of the business.
Wholesale partnership
Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms sources to PanaPesca USA under a sustainable sourcing partnership, which the company says offers a traceable product from the Gulf floor to the table and opens retail and foodservice channels.
Breeding for resilience
Genetic selection for heat tolerance is an investment in protecting future harvests rather than a direct sales line, but it affects how reliably the farm can fill orders.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms
The first lesson is that traceable, consistent supply wins large retail accounts. Tagged bags tied to specific water areas give buyers confidence and give the farm information on which leases perform.
Second, climate and storm risk call for investment in genetics and disaster planning; when mortality rose after Idalia, the farm had to buy clams from Georgia to meet commitments, which the owner called a losing proposition. Third, an industry built on a shared local brand can lift all producers, but it also means shared exposure to water quality and weather.
Raising a hundred million clams a year means thinning them from 12,000 to 1,300 per bag, which is the most polite form of crowd control in Florida agriculture. When the bags are finally tagged and tumbled, farm.FM brings farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, with no bag counts required.
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How to Contact Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms
No official farm website, address, phone or email appeared in the sources reviewed, so the best verified public page is listed. Details were not independently confirmed in November 2026.
Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- WUSF: why Cedar Key became an aquaculture site - 2026 report naming Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms
- Free Press: Cedar Key clam farmers and climate - 2024 report on storms and warming water
- Aquaculture news: PanaPesca and CKAF - Partnership for sustainable clam supply
- UF/IFAS: Cedar Key clam production - Extension data on the Cedar Key industry
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - National and Florida farm statistics
Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms FAQ
Where is Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms?
In Cedar Key, Florida, on Gulf waters off the Nature Coast.
How many clams does it produce?
A trade report says more than 100 million per year.
Who owns it?
Tim Solano, a second-generation clam farmer, per WUSF.
Who buys its clams?
WUSF names Whole Foods in Florida and Costco on the East Coast as main customers.
Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms shows how a family clam farm turns leased bottom, careful tracking and retail relationships into a durable business. Read the Florida farms guide for the state picture and the other operations profiled with Cedar Key Aquaculture Farms.