New efforts are currently underway to restore Georgia’s reduced oyster population. Shell-fisherman are finding new ways to grow oysters in Georgia’s unique coastal environment, and universities are working to identify ways to build new habitats to enhance the shellfish industry, improve water quality, and protect eroding shorelines. These activities will go far to restore water quality, a commercial fishery, and a public resource. As oyster and clam culture, or mariculture, is inextricably tied to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Management Program (GCMP) through the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act (CMPA), the Program has a vested interest in assuring that mariculture facilities provide the greatest benefit to the State and the public. However, there is little guidance available on the siting of mariculture activities whether the activities are intended for commercial harvest, public consumption, water quality improvements, or shoreline stabilization. Therefore, the GCMP has developed a strategy to identify and improve siting processes for shellfish mariculture. This strategy hinges upon the implementation of a digital mapping exercise to inventory known shellfish beds/reefs, both past and present. This will provide geographical insight as to where shellfish were and are most likely to thrive. The exercise will also include delineations of public and commercial shellfish harvest areas and water quality classifications, and, to the extent that information is available, areas of poor or un-supporting water quality conditions, shoreline erosion, adjacent land and water uses, and ownership. This exercise may be implemented by watershed in order of priority as determined by the GCMP, as time and funding allow. The outcomes from this exercise will assist the shellfish industry in evaluating the best areas for siting or expanding facilities, and will assist the GCMP in its permitting reviews for mariculture facilities. Current efforts are focused on Chatham County as a pilot study. The distribution of both live oyster beds and areas of dead shell are being mapped with hand held GPS units. In addition to the geo-referencing of the oyster beds, there are several presense or absense attributes that are recorded in association with the live beds: clams; whelks; mussels; oyster drills; porcelain crabs; and boonea.