Part of Washington agriculture is aquaculture. Farmers grow mussles, clams and oysters throughout Puget Sound. In fact, one of the largest mussel growers in the world is on Whidbey Island.
Penn Cove Mussels, Inc. was established by the Jefferds family in June of 1975 in Coupeville, Washington. Penn Cove was chosen for the mussel farm due to the unique hydrological and geographic features of the cove which make it the most prolific mussel growing area in the state. The geography of Penn Cove makes it a nutrient trap for the outflows of the Skagit and Stillaguamish River systems. The fresh water and nutrients combined with sun shine provided by the rain shadow effect of the Olympic Mountains tends to turn Penn Cove in to a bay of plankton soup for the mussels.
Mussels are very efficient filter feeders, with adults able to filter about 15 gallons of water per day; They can filter up to 60% of the plankton out of the water which they take in.
The mussel farm in Penn Cove is the home of the oldest and largest commercial mussel farm in the United States and Penn Cove Mussels have won top honors and international tasting competitions.
For more information: www.penncoveshellfish.com
