Our joint venture with the Coast Seafood's Company, America's premier oyster company, has provided for further enhancements to the mussel farming technology used in Penn Cove.  

The shellfish hatchery operated by Coast Seafood's is the largest of its kind in the world, The hatchery produces Mediterranean Mussel seed to grow out in Penn Cove in order to augment the product line of Penn Cove Shellfish and to provide more consistent supplies of Mussel "seed" throughout the year.

The natural spawning process of mussels is mimicked at the  hatchery located in Quilcene, Washington. It is there where the adult mussels are fooled into spawning into tanks in the hatchery where the larvae can be fed and allowed to grow until they are ready to set onto ropes and then move to Penn Cove for grow out. 

The Mediterranean mussels being produced at the hatchery are being treated as fertilized eggs to become "triploids", which will prevent them from spawning, thereby making them marketable year round, as well as prevent them from competing with the local Penn Cove Mussel.

(Left) - Tanks in the coast seafood's hatchery full of algae and larval mussels waiting to be set and moved out to Penn Cove.