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Welcome to the April edition of the
Penn Cove Shellfish Newsletter!
(yes, it is late...)
The Crew from "Shuckers" up for a visit to Penn Cove
Spring is finally in full swing up here in the Northwest. After a fairly cool, wet and windy winter we have been enjoying a recent return to a season somewhat resembling spring. This is great weather for shellfish too as the sunshine and warmer sea water is the perfect combination for algae growth, which our mussels, clams and oysters feed on.
2011 was a difficult year for shellfish in the Northwest. Because of the cloudy and cool temperatures, there was not as much food in the water for the mussels, clams and oysters to eat; which resulted in overall slow shellfish growth and lean production throughout the region.
Thankfully, this year seems to be back to a normal weather pattern and with report of the current La Niņa dissipating, we are looking forward to a nice and healthy crop of all our shellfish species. We are presently seeing fantastic growth on a weekly basis with our mussels, clams and oysters with the meat content and flavor both looking and tasting great. |
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Penn Cove Manila Clams |
 Over the years, we have worked with many different clam growers and have narrowed down that list to a very select few that meet our quality criteria and freshness needs.
When we bring the freshly harvested clams to Penn Cove, we immediately take them out into the bay and suspend them beneath our "wet storage" rafts next to our wet stored oysters. Since clams grow in the sand of the beaches, suspending them off the bottom gives the clams the ability to "purge" themselves of any sand and grit in their systems and to prevent having your customers having gritty surprises in the clam dishes.
Another advantage to our wet storage system, is that our clams are able to continue to thrive and feed until orders are placed and they are harvested. Like all live shellfish, clams use their fat reserves to sustain themselves while out of the water. Keeping the clams fat and happy also maintains the sweet ocean fresh flavor.
Since we deliver our clams in most cases within 24 hours of leaving the water, you and your customers are able to enjoy the clams at their most optimum level and also have a few extra days of shelf life. Be sure to ask for some with your next order and see just how good fresh manila clams can truely be! |
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Rawle's Weekly Oyster Evaluation
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Many of our customers in the Seattle area are very familiar Rawle Jefferds, who has been delivering Penn Cove Shellfish products for over 26 years. Besides being good friends with many on his route, he always goes above and beyond to make sure our customers needs are taken care of.
Back at Penn Cove, he also has been doing our in-house weekly oyster evaluation for over 10 years. Every Wednesday, We conduct a sample "cutting" of each of our oyster types and grade them on their size, meat content, flavor profile and spawn condition.
The total emphasis of our oyster evaluation is to provide a regular status update to our distributors, restaurants and markets across the country so they can have a current reference guide to all our oysters to base their orders on according to their preferences.
Tides, weather and time of year can all factor in the quality of the oysters, so it's great to see that if one oyster might be a little off for whatever reason there is always a great option with another oyster.
We always post Rawle's evaluation on our website www.penncoveshellfish.com. If you have questions, feel free to call us at 360-678-4803.
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Shop For Shellfish Online at Our
Penn Cove Shellfish Website |  Over the years we have received many request both locally and across the country about offering our products for sale to the general public. So in response we have added an online shopping cart
to our website
On our website shopping pageyou can order some of our best selling oysters, along with Manila Clams and of course, Penn Cove Mussels, for over night delivery via FedEx.
We know that most of you are already customers, but if you ever need any of our products for private events or as gifts we would be happy to help you.
If you have any questions or would like a custom order, Call Sarah in the office at 360-678-4803. 
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Penn Cove Video
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This video is played often on the Seattle television show "Evening Magazine" featuring Penn Cove Mussels and our how we harvest them.
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Oyster of the Month
The Sunset Beach
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This oyster gives you that little extra for your buck. It is beach raised in South Hood Canal. Very popular for those who want to grill or those who want a full meal deal. The oyster is nice and briny in taste and a firm texture to go along with it.
To find out more about the our 25 types of Pacific and Kumamoto Oysters check our
Oyster page from our website.
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New Vessel Launch
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In April, with our boat building partners at Everest Marine, we launched another heavy duty work skiff built for Pacific Oyster Company in Tillamook, Oregon. The skiff is 28ft x 9 and is powered by a 225p Honda four stroke outboard engine. |
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