AUTHORS:
Camille Saurel, Clarie Ng, Pascal Barreau, Iarfhlaith Connellan, Colin Hannon, Adam Hughes, Pernille Nielsen
SUMMARY
Mytilus edulis, commonly known as the blue mussel, is the second most economically important mussel cultivated in Europe. Faced with increasing spatial limitations inshore, researchers and industry are looking at distant offshore sites for longline cultivation with potential failure and lack of recruitment. Presently, low, inconsistent seed availability and suboptimal systems not adapted to exposed conditions present obstacles for successful expansion. Hatchery production of blue mussel seeds could be a solution to ensure reliable supply and introduce opportunities for selective breeding and triploid production. However, due to the low cost of natural spat and final sale value of mussels, it remains underdeveloped. To overcome the prohibitively expensive cost of hatchery reared spat, optimisation is necessary.
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