An examination is made of the possibilities of the development of mollusc and crustacean culture, especially intraditional harvesting areas of the Niger Delta, as a means of accelerating protein self-sufficiency. Scope for growth of coastal aquaculture of these organisms does exist, but applied research in biology, culture technology, processing, marketing and economics is required. There is need for detailed pilot and commercial scale trials and comparative economic studies of various culture and marketing techniques.