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Welcome to the August Edition of the Penn Cove Shellfish Newsletter!
We hope you have been enjoying summer to the fullest. Amazing that kids are already going back to school and Labor Day weekend is already here.
The "Mytilus" harvesting mussels in Quilcene Bay
Thanks to the lingering effects of a very strong La Niņa weather pattern left over from this winter, we have had an extremely cool and wet summer in the Northwest. Since we haven't had much sunshine , there has been less food in the water and therefore, slower growth for all of our filter feeding shellfish.
The good news is that although it is way behind schedule, the sun is finally shining and we are now seeing the growth we want with all of our shellfish products. As far as quality, the mussels and clams are nice and full of meat. Some oysters are still spawning so as always, we invite you to view the weekly oyster evaluation to see the current quality and spawn conditions of the oysters. |
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Penn Cove Maintenance
& Machine Shop |
One of the vital componets to the day to day operations here at Penn Cove Shellfish is our onsite machine shop and our crew of top notch mechanics. Being a farm operating in a corrosive salt water environment, the equipment needs constant attention and maintenance.
With the daily demands on our boats, engines and machinery, breakdowns can happen, so to prevent time them and in order to meet our customers needs and our shipping schedules, equipment need to be constantly maintained to keep our harvest and packing crews on schedule.
  
In a small town, rural environment you cannot just run to hardware store to buy mussel farming equipment. So a big part of us moving into our new operations facility was to build into the plans a state of the art mechanics shop led by Eric Daigneault, and his team of top notch mechanics. They make our day to day operations possible and with their fantastic ability to troubleshoot and fix everything from delivery trucks to boats, motors, refrigeration amd everything in between. Thanks to Eric, Jim, Matt and Bob for keeping us in gear and rolling!
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Shellfish Tag Information |  We have had multiple requests that we explain the format of our shellfish tags, especially for those products that have been wet stored here at Penn Cove.
As you may be aware, shellfish tags are part of a Federal and State program designed to identify and track live shellfish products; following harvest through the market to the final consumer. This program was established in order to inspire consumer confidence by knowing where and when shellfish products were harvested, and also to allow for enhanced customer safety by being able to identify any shellfish products associated with an illness complaint and thereby allow for tracking of other shipments from the same lot. The shellfish tag is used to identify the body of water from which the shellfish is harvested as well as the date upon which it is harvested. This allows for customers to discern between different lots shipped and provides for a check on freshness from their distributor. A point of confusion often arises when shellfish has been harvested from one area and then wet stored at another area until they are sold. The Federal rules regarding shellfish tags state that the tags will identify the original harvest area and harvest date, and if the product is wet stored, that the tag will still identify the original harvest area and harvest date, but shall also make note of the dates of wet storage and certification number of the growing area where the product is wet stored. Confusion sometimes arises when customers see the original harvest date, but fail to notice the wet storage dates which are printed directly below the product description area on the tag. At Penn Cove Shellfish, LLC, we have two wet storage areas. We wet store oysters and clams at Penn Cove in order to insure that you and your customers are always getting the freshest shellfish available; as we like to say, they are, "Fresh from the Water, Not the Warehouse".
To provide the freshest shellfish possible, we suspend bags of clams and oysters from a wet storage raft anchored in Penn Cove adjacent to our mussel farm rafts, and we also have a certified upland recirculating wet storage system. The upland system is used to store those shellfish products brought in from out of the state. For some of our distribution customers who do not re-pack or re-tag our shellfish, we provide a two part tag which allows for the tag to be retained as required by the distributor and for the original information to go along with the bag of shellfish. Should you or your customers have any questions regarding this information or concerning tags for wet storage of shellfish, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@penncoveshellfish.com
or by phone at 360-678-4803. |
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Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern Video | |
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The wildly popular celebrity chef from the Food Network and MSNBC, Andrew Zimmern, paid a visit to Penn Cove Shellfish to learn more about our mussel farming operation and enjoy a meal made by Seattle Restaurant owner and Iron Chef, Tom Douglas.
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Oyster of the Month
The Kusshi |
Some people consider this the perfect oyster due to its consistant shape, size and wonderful flavor. Tray raised in British Columbia, Canada, these oysters are frequently tumbled to create a deep, round shell filled with a crisp and tasty meat. A perfect oyster for the beginner oyster eater or an afficianado. |
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Penn Cove Marine Products |
Over the past 20 years Penn Cove Shellfish with our partner Everest Marine have designed and built a fleet of shellfish vessels and harvesting equipment specifically designed for the adversity faced and efficiency required to have a competitive edge in the ever changing world of shellfish farming.
If you are in the market for a new harvesting vessel or updating your equipment we offer a design/build and consulting service.
Over the past few years, we have designed, fabricated and delivered 8 shallow draft, jet powered oyster harvest vessels and a number of work skiffs for Coast Seafoods Company. |
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Pictures from Penn Cove |
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