A Restaurant Ready® White Water Mussel™ or Big One Mussel is a bottom cultured product fished from the cool waters of New England. Post harvest, the mussels are shipped to our facility located on Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island where the Restaurant Ready® process begins. White Water mussels are 2 1/2 - 3" and are available year round, weather permitting.
First the product is put in a custom designed seawater system. This unique design pumps the cool, sterilized seawater of Narragansett Bay over the shellfish allowing the bivalves to filter out sand, grit, and trace bacteria in a controlled environment. The seawater system is monitored on a daily basis with salinity, ph, oxygen, and bacteria levels being recorded. Next, the product is harvested from the Restaurant Ready® system per order. Mussels go through a production line that includes a declumper, multiple inspection belts, a debysser to cut the beards at the shell, and a final inspection and grading step. The finished product is packed in two pound and ten pound bags always completely covered in ice. We at American Mussel Harvesters, Inc. concur that White Waters™ provide a much sweeter flavor (possibly due to growing on the ocean floor) than any mussel on the market.