40 lose jobs in mussel farm closure

ST. GEORGE – Reaction to the shutdown Monday of Great Eastern Mussel Farms was glum because of the loss of so many jobs.

The mussel farm, located on Cove Road in the village of Tenants Harbor, announced Monday morning that it is shutting down its business, eliminating 40 full-time jobs.

The company cited competition from Canadian mussel farms, regulatory obstacles and rising energy costs as contributing to the its demise.

A sign posted in the front door window at the main entrance read Monday afternoon: “Do not enter. Building under surveillance.”

Three large commercial trucks, including two tractor-trailers bearing the Great Eastern Mussel Farms logo, were parked in the yard of the main building.

“I think it’s too bad,” said Bill Stuart, owner of Farmers Restaurant, a popular eatery on Route 131 in the village. “It’s going to hurt our economy. There aren’t too many businesses here.”

St. George has a year-round population of about 2,800, including a mixture of commercial fishermen and retirees.

The workers at a lobster wharf, located a short distance down a dirt road from the farm, said the employees found out they had lost their jobs when they arrived Monday morning to start the business day.

“They’ve had troubles the last four or five years competing with the Canadian subsidies on mussels,” said one lobsterman, who did not want to be identified.

“It was as much a shock to me as it was to everybody else,” said Town Manager John Falla. “Usually, when something like this happens, we hear about it first. But not this time. We heard it about noon when a bulletin came out.”

Falla said he did not know how many of the employees were local.

Patrons at Tenants Harbor General Store, formerly Hall’s Market until this year, said they weren’t surprised because they had heard of difficulties at the business.

Great Eastern was a pioneer in mussel cultivation when it was founded 30 years ago.

Michael Hallundbaeck, general manager, said that before Chip Davison founded the company, mussel diggers and fishermen drove the mussel market. Hallundbaeck said Great Eastern established an entirely new seafood category with cultivated mussels.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.