Mussel Aquaculture in the Northeast

trossulus) and use as fishing bait have long been supported in the northeastern United States by a small-scale fishery supplying largely niche markets. Mussels have been consumed since pre-colonial times and served as a ready supply of inexpensive seafood protein during wartime periods (1917 and 1942) in America (Miller, 1980). Markets for mussels expanded in the 1970s and 1980s leading to the introduction of mussel farming in the Northeast. The first U.S. mussel farm was established by Mr. Edward Meyers of Walpole, Maine, who in 1973 founded Abandoned Farm on a 5-acre (2-hectare) site in the nearby Damariscotta River. Other early mussel farms established in the 1970s included the 60-acre Blue Gold Mussel Farm on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay in the town of Middletown, Rhode Island and The Great Eastern Mussel Farm in Tenants Harbor, Maine (Hurburt and Hurlburt, 1980). Since these pioneering farms, others have become established in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The process of mussel farming involves the collection of juvenile mussels (“mussel spat”), harvesting the spat and placing it into culture equipment and growing the mussels to market size for harvest and sale. In general, most of the mussel farms in the Northeast Region are of the off-bottom type in which mussels are grown on ropes either suspended from rafts, or strung on socking materials that are suspended from rafts or in either floating or submerged longline systems. Bottom culture of mussels occurs in Maine, using methods similar to those developed in the Netherlands and Germany, though most new efforts employ off-bottom mussel farming methods that produce a cleaner more uniformly sized product (Hurlburt and Hurlburt, 1980). The aim of this NRAC fact sheet is to provide a general overview of the various mussel farming techniques as they are currently practiced in the Northeastern United States. References are cited that provide more indepth information on particular production systems, and prospective growers are also encouraged to contact their local marine extension agent, aquaculture association, state marine fisheries agency, or the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center.