Ribbed mussel, (Geukensia demissa), can be found, usually in dense clumps, along the coastlines where salt marsh habitat exists. They are an important species for this habitat and have a mutualistic relationship with the marsh cord grass (Spartina alterniflora ). The value and importance of salt marsh habitat is becoming even more prevalent due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion due to the magnitude and frequency of storms . Marsh restoration is fairly common, but it lacks the ability to incorporate the ribbed mussel into the restoration projects.
Shellfish aquaculture typically focused on species that were consumed and since ribbed mussel are generally considered in-edible, they were not a species that were of interest in being cultivated. For that reason, the consistent and reliable methods for culture have not been thoroughly developed. Pilot level cultivation efforts were explored at the Aquaculture Innovation Center for Rutgers University. These efforts had some success in providing ribbed mussel seed for shoreline restoration projects that were being conducted by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. It was during this work that the “Bin-Silo Method” was developed as a spawning technique by Landau (2014) to overcome various issues for spawning shellfish species, including ribbed mussel.
The traditional method of thermal cycling to induce spawning of the ribbed mussel was found to have minimal success. Numerous attempts using the “Bin-Silo Method” and allowing the broodstock to be thermally shocked and then slowly cooling down overnight, has yielded relatively consistent spawning opportunities. The successful cultivation practices for the ribbed mussel follow a similar process to other shellfish culture but there are adjustments that must be made due to the presence of the byssal threads and the mobile behavior of the juvenile seed. The larval stage is similar to oyster where eyespots are developed prior to metamorphosis into the pediveliger stage. The downwelling stage is consistent with oyster and clam, however, at a size of approximately 300-400µm, the juveniles become highly mobile and migrate up to the waterline. This behavior makes the remaining grow-out stages different from that of oyster and hard clam.
While working to refine the methodology for consistently producing ribbed mussel, several hatchery staff members from different organizations began discussing their findings and decided to work together. The Ribbed Mussel Aquaculture Collaborative (RMAC) is a partnership that was developed to share methodology and for collaboration to pursue the ongoing desire to reliably produce ribbed mussel for various projects in different regions. RMAC includes staff from New York Sea Grant, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, CUNY Baruch, Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, and the Aquaculture Innovation Center for Rutgers University.