Blue Mussel Farming With Stanley Larsen
Captain Stanley Larsen guides boat off Island's north shore.
Captain Stanley Larsen guides boat off Island's north shore.
Fishing boat Four Kids heads out of Menemsha Harbor.
Fishing boat Four Kids heads out of Menemsha Harbor.
Stanley is owner of Menemsha Fish Market and commercial shellfisherman.
Stanley is owner of Menemsha Fish Market and commercial shellfisherman.
Harvesting the mussels uses a system of ropes and winches in offshore waters.
Harvesting the mussels uses a system of ropes and winches in offshore waters.
Today Stanley was a one man show . . . both captain and deck hand.
Today Stanley was a one man show . . . both captain and deck hand.
Suspended above the ocean floors keeps mussels safe from predators.
Suspended above the ocean floors keeps mussels safe from predators.
Mussels are sold at Menemsha Fish Market and other Island businesses.
Mussels are sold at Menemsha Fish Market and other Island businesses.
Stanley believes these are the best tasting mussels in the world.
Stanley believes these are the best tasting mussels in the world.
Guiding Four Kids through Menemsha channel and home.
Guiding Four Kids through Menemsha channel and home.
Aquaculture farm was established off Chilmark in 2006.
Aquaculture farm was established off Chilmark in 2006.
Working fishing boat, and everything has its place.
Working fishing boat, and everything has its place.
On a February day Stanley Larsen captains his fishing boat Four Kids out of Menemsha Harbor to his offshore blue mussel farm off Chilmark's north shore. Waves raise and lower the boat in a gentle fashion. The sky is gray and metallic; the color of the sea beneath is a darker version of the sky. After hooking a floating buoy, Stanley pulls a line aboard. The seaweed-covered line speeds through a winch, and the incoming line changes from a strand of rope to a thick, six-foot-length made up of hundreds of blue mussels. The mussels will be sold at Menemsha Fish Market and other Island businesses.