Oyster, mussel, and clam aquaculture provides environmental benefits including water filtration and carbon sequestration while representing the lowest-welfare-impact animal protein source.
From a welfare perspective, bivalves sit at the low end of the sentience probability spectrum - they lack centralized nervous systems and the neural architecture associated with conscious pain experience in vertebrates. Combined with their substantial environmental benefits, bivalve aquaculture represents a welfare-positive protein choice for consumers reducing harm from food systems. Supporting bivalve aquaculture expansion could provide environmental services including water quality improvement in degraded coastal ecosystems, benefiting the broader marine community including sentient fish and marine mammals.