Meet the fishers

Meet the Denmark blue shell mussel fishers

The blue-shell mussel (Mytilus edulis) is an important resource in the Danish fisheries.  In the last ten years the annual landings have amounted between 110,000 - 135,000 metric tonnes with an annual value of €7 - €12 million for the fishermen.  More than 90% of the landings are exported as single frozen mussels or canned commodities and Denmark is one of the most important producers of processed mussels in Europe.

Benny Anderson, fisherman and Chairman of the Limfjord Fishers says: “I’ve been fishing for over 30 years – since 1977. I used to catch herring and eel until I switched to mussels in 1990. The mussel fishery has been here for more than 100 years so it is a traditional Danish fishery in the fjords but it doesn’t have a great image with the Danish population. The awareness of sustainability and environmental impact has increased a lot over the years. I hope that we can get a higher awareness in the population about the fishery, specifically that it is sustainable. I am also hoping for a higher price!”

“On a perfect fishing day we start out at 3am trailing out of the harbour. If it is in spring and the sun is going up, the sun is very big and very beautiful over the fjord. Typically, we have two hours sailing to get to the fishing grounds. We then take samples of the water and the meat. We fish on the mussel grounds for 3-4 hours to get 15 tonnes. Then we return to the harbour and offload. It’s about 8-12 hours work on a fishing day. Of course, a perfect fishing day should be a calm day with the sun out. There’s nothing as beautiful as the sun setting over the Limfjord on a calm day. Then you love being a fisherman."