Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

1945

Journal

The Commonwealth

Volume

12

Issue

2

First Page

3

Last Page

10

Abstract

(...) In 1940, the ribbed mussels, Volsella demissus, of Tidewater Virginia were discovered by Du Pont chemists to be rich in this "provitamin D." This discovery was followed immediately by the development of a mussel fishery on the "Seaside" of Virginia's Eastern Shore peninsula, the activity centering on the large intertidal marshes where the mussels grow and in the shucking houses along the water fronts of shore towns where the mussels are steamed, shucked, and packed for shipment. This fishery has since constituted the country's principal available "provitamin D" source, and large war demands for eggs and poultry meat have been met by the poultry industry with the help of the previously unexploited Virginia mussels.

Because of the prospective importance of the mussel, the Du Pont company acted through the-Virginia Fisheries Laboratory in 1940 to initiate a biological study of this as yet little-known bivalve.

Keywords

Ribbed mussels, Volsella demissus

Publication Statement

Contribution (Virginia Fisheries Laboratory) ; no. 18.

Download

Share Feedback

Share

COinS