There’s no doubt that American Mussel Harvesters Inc. sells mussels. They also harvest and distribute quahogs, soft-shell clams and up to 40 different types of oysters.
But the North Kingstown-based company stops short when it comes to fish and lobster.
“We decided a while ago to focus on shellfish and do the best that we can,” said General Manager Gregory Silkes. “We just do shellfish really, really well.”
The nearly 35-year-old company recently underwent an online facelift, updating its website, tweaking its logo and streamlining its sales focus so that customers are getting a consistent message.
During previous years, the seafood harvester tended to create marketing materials to address needs as they arose, resulting in a broad patchwork of information and sales efforts. Now, the family-owned company that got its start in Narragansett’s Port of Galilee has a single message for all of its buyers, be they restaurants or supermarkets in New England, or buyers in the Midwest.
“We have one focused piece of marketing material for mussels, oysters and clams. We’re trying to be uniform in our presentation to everybody,” Silkes said.
Launched during the summer, the cohesive messaging has been good for business.
Plainridge Park Casino and the MGM Springfield, both in Massachusetts, now buy shellfish from the company, along with several distributors across the country. A potential deal in Seattle could extend American Mussel’s reach to the Pacific Northwest.
The company has tentative plans for expansion, but in the meantime has committed to a number of food shows and demonstrations, including some with East Greenwich-based Dave’s Fresh Marketplace.
While last year American Mussel sold 1.5 million oysters harvested from its own aquaculture farm in Narragansett Bay, the company buys many of its oysters from about 20 growers who own farms along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Canada. Mussels are harvested in the wild from waters bordering Rhode Island up to Maine, and local fishermen bring in quahogs.
The company’s mussel and clam supply took a hit this year after the New England Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service declared Nantucket Shoals off limits for shellfish harvesters in an effort to protect codfish. American Mussel had been fishing for clams there, and planned to start harvesting mussels in the shallows east of Nantucket.
“That one hurt, we’re still trying to fight the decision,” Silkes said.
Striking the right balance between bringing in enough supply to fill orders and not overharvesting when weather won’t allow for overnight delivery can be challenging as well, he added.
“Mother Nature is our CEO, we have to deal with [shellfishing area] closures from heavy bouts of rain [that result in too much bacteria for safe harvesting],” Silkes said. “And three or four years ago, we had a lot of snow and couldn’t run our trucks.”
Demand for some of the company’s product, which is cleaned using purified seawater, can vary. Sales for mussels and clams have been up and down, but it’s only been up for oysters.
“There’s definitely been an oyster boom in the last 15 years, [oyster bars] are popping up all over the place,” Silkes said.
OWNERS: Bill Silkes, Barbara Thompson, Gregory Silkes, Adam Silkes, Mason Silkes
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Shellfish farming and processing operation
LOCATION: 165 Tidal Drive, North Kingstown
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 30
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1986
ANNUAL SALES: WND
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.
