A regenerative ocean farm on Maine’s coast

At BANGS ISLAND MUSSELS we practice sustainable aquaculture to grow mussels and kelp in complete harmony with our coastal ecosystem. Our approach to ocean-farming minimizes human impact on the environment while improving local water quality and creating habitat for wild sea life.

Why Mussels?

Mussel farming is one of the most sustainable methods of food production on the planet. Dense in protein and harvested in large quantities, mussels can be grown at a scale needed to feed the world’s increasing population, all without the use of land or fertilizers.

Growing on ropes suspended above the seafloor, our mussels filter feed in the water column, improving the quality of our ocean’s water and producing very little greenhouse gas.

Aquaculture will play an essential role in meeting the global demand for more food. By 2050, we will need to produce 70% more food to sustain current consumption levels. Regenerative farms like ours use techniques that minimize human impact on the environment while restoring previous ecological damage and encouraging biodiversity.

Plentiful, nutritious, and great for the environment: Mussels are a protein of the future.

Our Story

Father-son team Gary and Matt Moretti started the family business over a decade ago when farming the sea was a novel idea. Drawn to the ocean after growing up on the Mississippi River, Gary made his way to Maine and into the lobster industry before joining the state’s first mussel aquaculture working group in the early 2000s. Around the same time, Matt was discovering aquaculture while studying marine science in college and grad school, exploring lobster grow out techniques at the New England Aquarium, and learning oyster farming in Maine’s midcoast. Ultimately realizing that mussel farming - with its sustainable growing methods, potential to scale, and nutrition density - was the future of sustainable seafood production, Gary and Matt combined efforts to begin the family company in 2010. And in 2020, daughter and sister Annie joined the team.

Bangs Island Mussels is a family-run company, and our team consists of ocean-lovers, foodies, engineers, service-workers, recent grads and immigrants. We each have a desire to positively impact the planet, and are committed to a sustainable future.