Mussel farming involves growing and harvesting marine and freshwater mussels for food or pearl production. China is the leading producer of freshwater pearls, while New Zealand and North America farm mussels for food. Mussels can be farmed on ropes in tidal areas or in tanks, and can create pearls by depositing calcium carbonate around foreign bodies.
Mussel farming is a form of aquaculture which involves the farming and harvesting of these molluscs in natural or artificial environments. Marine and freshwater mussel species are both farmed, although usually for different purposes. Mussels raised specifically for food are grown primarily in marine environments, and freshwater species are generally used to create cultured pearls. Nearly half of all mussel farming occurs in China, which is the world’s leading producer of freshwater cultured pearls, although mussels are also grown extensively for food in New Zealand and other areas. The main farmed source of mussels in North America is Prince Edward Island in Canada, but the United States also farms these shellfish in Maine and Washington state.
There are many species of bivalve molluscs called mussels, all of which have elongated shells that tend to be less symmetrical than other types of clams. Mussel shells are also dark in color, and many mussel species are blue, brown, or black. Not all mussels are palatable, but those that are can be farmed for human consumption as a form of aquaculture. Like all molluscs, mussels are also capable of creating pearls by depositing concentric layers of calcium carbonate around a foreign body.
When mussels are raised for food, it is typically done in a marine environment. These filter feeders naturally live in tidal areas, so most breeding sites are also in tidal areas. Farmed mussels can be farmed on ropes suspended from buoys, although another method is to set up piers in a tidal area. The ropes are then wrapped around the pylons in a spiral pattern and the net is placed around the ropes. The ropes provide the mussels with a place to attach themselves via their byssal threads and the nets prevent them from falling over or being attacked by some predators.
Freshwater mussel farming can take place in lakes or artificial tanks, where the same rope and buoy methods typical of marine aquaculture are employed. After the mussels have reached a certain size, they can be gently opened and implanted with tissue grafts. In order to maximize production, many grafts are usually placed in each mussel. The mussels then coat these foreign bodies with calcium carbonate, which is a process that can create a pearl over the course of several months or years, depending on how much time a particular mussel farming operation can afford to invest. Pearls are also grown in marine aquaculture, although those procedures use oysters instead of mussels.
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