Climate change is a global threat and numerous studies have linked the increased incidence of disease and mortality in marine organisms to climatic alterations and anthropogenic inputs (Harvell et al., 1999). The Irish Sea is a rich source of shellfish species, both in terms of abundance and species diversity. The shellfish industry have concerns about the biological, environmental and economic impacts of climate change on aquaculture in this region. The SUSFISH project , a collaborative project between University College Cork, Ireland and Bangor University, Swansea University and Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK, will identify the effects that climate change will have on shellfish stocks in the Irish Sea and from these findings will produce guidelines for future fisheries management. SUSFISH will identify strategies for exploiting potential opportunities from the changing climate as well as identifying how best to mitigate economic losses.