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Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

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Blue mussels inhabit a wide range of estuarine and marine environments.  They attach to rocks, jetties and piers and sometimes form dense beds on sandy flat substrates.   They can be found from the low tide level to a depth of 10 metres, and they prefer sites with significant water movement. 

Blue mussels have a minor spawning period in June, followed by a second, extended spawning period from August to January.  Spawning occurs at water temperatures of 14°C.  Blue mussels are "broadcast spawners" releasing eggs and sperm simultaneously into the water with fertilisation taking place in open water.

The fertilised eggs are planktonic, averaging 0.07mm in diameter and develop into unshelled larvae within a day.

Larvae are free swimming and the planktonic stage can last from 2 weeks to several months, although most larvae settle 3-4 weeks after spawning.

Blue mussels are filter feeders, straining plankton from the water.  They are preyed on by crabs, starfish, leatherjackets, pufferfish and flat worms.

Blue mussels are an important commercial fishery.  There are only small sectors still harvesting wild mussels.  Most mussels are aquacultured, grown using long line methods, with sprat collected via natural settlement.  All farmed product is sold live and whole in the shell.

Some information on Cultured Mussels in Australia:

Mussels are one of the most nutritious, convenient and value-for-money seafood delicacies available.  Today, mussels are grown at 20 of the lease sites granted in Victoria's Port Phillip Bay.

The mussels are grown on ropes in clean, flowing ocean currents and harvested at their peak condition.  Unlike inferior dredged mussels dragged out of the mud at the bottom, Cultured Mussels are suspended metres above the seabed and are clean and free from sand and grit - so clean they need very little preparation.

The colour of the mussel meat varies slightly - the girls are pink and the boys are paler !!

MUSSELS are high in protein and minerals and low in calories and fat.

RECIPES FOR MUSSELS

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