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Netherlands blue shell mussel

MSC status

Certified as sustainable in July 2011

Summary

Species: Mussel (Mytilus edulis)
Location: The Waddenzee and Zeeuwse delta of the Dutch coastal region.
Fishing methods: Dredge and bottom culture.
Vessels:  65
Number of fisheries: 1

More about blue shell mussel

The blue mussel, Mytilus eduliss (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) is a sessile bivalve. It lives attached to a substratum of
shells, shell fragments or pebbles by its byssus threads. Mussels may form banks on soft bottom substrates by attaching to shells or shell fragments and by forming attachment to other mussels..Blue mussels occur predominantly in estuaries which are usually characterized by large variation in turbidity, salinity and hydrodynamics. Consequently, mussels can withstand a wide variation in environmental conditions.

More about the fishing methods

Mussels are caught with a mussel dredge. Vessels operate 2 or 4 dredges. The dredge consists of a metallic net that is supported by a steel bar frame. The net is usually 1.9 meter wide and a steel bar of 4 cm is dredged along the sea bottom. When the net is full it is emptied into the boat hold. The same gear is used for the seed fishery as for the fishery on the mussel plots.

Fishery tonnage

In the 2010/11 fishing season, the landing tonnage was 56,600 metric tonnes.

Commercial market

Mussels from this fishery are mainly sold fresh on the Dutch (10%), Belgium (60%), French (20%), German and other EU markets (10%).

Actual eligibility date

26th July 2011

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