The blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) is a widely distributed boreo-temperate species occurring in the Arctic, North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans. On the east coast of North America, its range extends from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and it is common throughout the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Regions. It is most common in the littoral to sublittoral zones (<99 m) of oceanic and polyhaline to mesohaline estuarine environments; however, it has been found in deeper and cooler waters (100 to 499 m) that enable it to penetrate as far south as Charleston, South Carolina (Newell 1989).

To expand mussel production, Maine (USA) mussel producers are developing suspension culture using 12 m triple pontoon raft systems. Each raft produces 45 tonnes of mussels in an 18 month rearing cycle. In Maine, the best commercial mussel beds are found a few feet above and below MLW between Casco Bay and Jonesport. Six of the most productive areas are Casco Bay, Muscongus Bay, Tenants Harbor to Vinalhaven, Stonington to Deer Isle, Sorrento to Mt. Desert Narrows, and the Jonesport area.