Introduction

Forms of aquaculture

Why aquaculture

History

Which specie

Problems associated with aquaculture

Cultivating molluscs

Cultivating blue mussels

Cultivation methods

Problems associated with mussel cultivation

Threats

Poisonous mussels?

Foodstuffs (recipe)

Much more common than rope cultivation is raft cultivation, where blue mussels are cultivated on ropes that hang beneath large rafts. Raft cultivation is commonly found in Spain, which is the worlds largest producer of blue mussels. The rafts are placed in estural areas of Spanish fjords where there is an abundant supply of nutritive salts from the deeper regions of the Atlantic. Each raft is approx. 20 x 25 metres and from every raft hang 500 ropes that are 9 metres long. Such a raft can produce up to 60 tons of mussels annually. The total Spanish production of blue mussels is about 200 000 tons per annum, compared to Swedens couple of thousand tons per annum.
    Another type of rope cultivation is long-line cultivation. Here, a long line is anchored at both ends, while the line between is kept afloat with bouys. From such a line, mussel ropes are hung at half a metre intervals, in the same way as with raft cultivation. Blue mussel larvae attach themselves to the hanging ropes. This method has earlier been used for the cultivation of oysters in Japan and Norway. Today, the same method is used for the cultivation of blue mussels in Sweden.

Here you can see a short film of long-line cultivation.

 
Raft cultivation in Ireland.   

Sweden is participating in an EU-project where pole, bottom, raft and long-line cultivation methods are being compared. The purpose of this comparison is to ascertain the advantages and disadvantages between the different cultivation methods and to eventually increase blue mussel production within the EU.

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