Farming Blue Mussels

Introduction

Mussel farming has a long history that dates back to the thirteenth century. Mussels are farmed in many areas of the world with the most common species cultured being the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. The main producers of mussels are countries such as China, Korea, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, France and New Zealand. In 1997, 1.1 million tonnes of mussels were produced worldwide, with most production occurring in China (nearly 400,000 tonnes). The Australian mussel industry is relatively small compared with world standards and in 1998/99, the total Australian production of mussels was 1,297 tonnes. Since last reviewed by Lawrence (1995), the Western Australian industry has shown good growth, increasing from 127 tonnes in 1990/91 to 506 tonnes in 1996/97 to 679 tonnes in 1998/99.

Thirteen species of native mussels occur within Western Australia, but these are all small species with low or no market value. The Western Australian commercial mussel industry is based on the farming of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis although the actual identification of the species is a matter of scientific debate. Recent evidence suggests that it is in fact the European mussel species, Mytilus galloprovincialis. In the absence of a definitive answer to the taxonomic question, (see Gosling 1992) the name M. edulis is used here to be consistent with the Department of Fisheries legislation.

The origins of the blue mussel in Australia are unknown. While it is possible the species occurs naturally in Australian waters, it is also possible that it came to this country on the hulls of early sailing ships when the continent was colonised by Europeans. In either event, the species has occurred along the coastline of southern Australia for a considerable period of time.