Family-owned, Maine-based seafood company Bangs Island Mussels – which raises premium, sustainable mussels with ropes – has acquired Calendar Island Mussels in a strategic move expected to increase production volumes.
Owned by father and son Gary and Matt Moretti, Bangs Island Mussels operates out of Portland, Maine’s waterfront. Calendar Island Mussels is also located in Portland, with raft sites visible from Bangs Island’s current locations, said Matt Moretti, Bangs Island’s CEO. Purchasing Calendar Island is expected to help Bangs Island better meet the rise in demand for its premium mussel products among chefs and seafood distributors, the company said in a press release.
"This acquisition is ideal for Bangs Island. We can actually see Calendar Island’s operations from our current sites so we know that their specific locations provide optimal conditions for the highest quality mussels,” Moretti said. “It allows us to apply our proprietary, sustainable, ocean-friendly techniques to produce far more premium quality Bangs Island mussels for our customers, while expanding our family-run, people-centric business."
Bangs Island Mussels utilizes sustainable raft culture techniques to develop products of “optimal quality and flavor characteristics,” the company explained. The merger with Calendar Island will involve updating rafts and proprietary processes at both sites, the companies confirmed.
The mussels that Bangs Island produces via its rafts and ropes possess sweet meats and thin, consistent shells that are sought after by high-level chefs and other discerning consumers, explained Gary Moretti, co-owner of Bangs Island Mussels.
“Our attention to detail, proprietary processes, commitment to sustainability and ocean stewardship are more than talking points to us; it’s how we work, think, talk and act. It’s in our DNA and that will never change,” Gary Moretti said.
Similarly, Calendar Island is committed to producing “sweet, succulent rope-grown blue mussels,” according to its website.
“Chefs from here to Washington D.C. to Chicago know that rope grown mussels from Maine waters can’t be beat for taste and quality. Our staff is dedicated to growing and supplying our customers with the best blue mussels on the planet,” Calendar Island said.
Founded nine years ago, Bangs Island has grown into one of the largest producers of farmed-raised mussels and seaweed on the East Coast of the United States. The company’s products have been featured across prominent media platforms including Outside Magazine, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, and Simply Ming with Chef Ming Tsai, and will soon be highlighted in an upcoming episode of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito on PBS in 2020. Chefs like Sam Hayward, Andrew Taylor, and Barton Seaver have also recognized Bangs Island’s products, the company noted.
Photo courtesy of Bangs Island Mussels
