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This article presents a highly detailed territorial assessment for aquaculture production in Uruguay and a methodology to identify the most suitable areas in order to develop the activity. Furthermore, it proposes the basis to generate a dynamic modelling tool of high spatial resolution to support the decision-making process regarding national aquaculture activities. The modelling structure of aquaculture suitability was developed by the construction of a hierarchical model, combining a multicriteria assessment and a geographic information system. Forty-one attributes were integrated in six aptitude models: one model for each one of the five common production systems intended to be the most viable in Uruguay and a sixth aptitude indicator that summarizes those five systems, representing the maximum suitability for aquaculture activities. In addition, the hierarchical model allows measurement and identification of relative weights of each model, according to the planning scale, ranging from basin to cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]