Cultivating the “Island Blues”
Plump, juicy and free of the grit that has forever frustrated gourmet cooks, Prince Edward Island’s “Island Blue” variety of cultivated mussel is in demand around the world. Mussel buoys are now a common sight on the water of the Three Rivers region, as new and improved methods of mussel aquaculture contribute to a rapidly-growing Prince Edward Island industry.

The estuaries of the Brudenell, Cardigan and Montague Rivers provide ideal growing conditions for the newly-enhanced mollusk, producing prolific quantities of natural “seed” and suitable water flow, temperature and nutrient content. Prince Edward Island’s cultivated mussel industry has several distinctive features:

.• Long-Line Adaptation: The Island’s mussel cultivation industry began in the late 1970’s, when local growers began experimenting with the “off-bottom” Spanish technique of suspending lines from floating rafts. They soon discovered, however, that while the rafts worked well in warmer waters, they were crushed by Prince Edward Island’s winter ice. Their failure led to the development of the highly-successful “long-line system” of mussel cultivation.
.• Socks and Sleeves: The cultivation process begins in May with the collection of mussel seed on rough-textured ropes or strips of plastic mesh that are suspended in the water from a buoyed backline weighted at either end. The seed is attracted to the rope, where it attaches by means of naturally-produced, hair-like “byssal threads.” In the fall, the “spat” (juvenile-stage mussel) which develops on the rope is stripped from the collectors, de-clumped and graded into uniform size classes before being re-distributed to a series of plastic mesh tubes known as “sleeves” or “socks.” The tubes are re-suspended in the water for the duration of their growing period. The backline is then heavily weighted to sink the sleeves deep in the water, below the freezing temperatures of the upper waters. Mussel socks that are “planted” during the fall will remain underwater for more than a year. The relatively short growing season of cultivated mussels, with harvest within 20 months, is one of the industry’s greatest economic advantages. In contrast, oyster cultivation takes 7 years.
.• Winter Harvesting Technique: In early spring, while most of the Island’s farming world takes a well-deserved break, mussel growers head out on to the ice to harvest their crop. Using ice poles or even Global Positioning technology to locate their lines, they cut a hole in the ice and draw out their crop using a pulley system.

Mussel Industry Measurements

.• The Prince Edward Island cultivated mussel industry began in the late 1970’s, with production of less than 40,000 kilograms.
.• In 1996, there were 238 mussel producing sites in Prince Edward Island, operated by 124 mussel growers.
.• In 1999, Prince Edward Island produced 13,890 tonnes of cultivated mussels, amounting to 80% of the total Canadian mussel production. The remainder is produced by New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
.• As of 2002, Prince Edward Island’s mussel culture industry was contributing $50 million to the province’s economy, and providing direct and indirect employment for at least 1500 people.
.• There are 7 mussel processing plants on Prince Edward Island.
.• Prince Edward Island’s mussel growing industry is associated with the Prince Edward Island Cultured Mussels Growers Association (PEICMGA) and the Prince Edward Island Aquaculture Alliance.