As New Englanders learned to savor the sweet taste of mussels over the last generation, an odd fact remains: While the shellfish are as common as sand on some local beaches, the vast majority of fresh mussels for consumption come from Prince Edward Island.
But now, researchers at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, other biologists, and local fishermen are trying to make southern New England blue mussels as popular as their Canadian counterparts by growing them offshore.
The aquaculture experiment’s first harvest has proven so successful that mussels from four experimental sites off Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, and Sakonnet Point are selling briskly in fish stores and restaurants.
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