The Galician mussel industry: Innovation and changes in the last forty years

The decline of mussel aquaculture in the European Union: causes, economic impacts and opportunities

“…Mussel production is thought to have declined due to the spread of diseases, algal blooms, lack of spat, predation and low earnings. Such causes may have been exacerbated by local conditions such as the small size of mussel enterprises (Villasante et al 2013;Theodorou & Tzovenis 2017), the lack of innovation in the mussel production processes (Labarta & Fernández-Reiriz 2019), the carrying capacity of the ecosystems to support the mussel production (Villasante 2009) and the impacts of climate change (Álvarez-Salgado et al 2009;Rodrigues et al 2015;Outeiro et al 2018). The relative simple production technology also gives producers limited control of the production process, leading to fewer opportunities for innovation and productivity growth that are the main factors in the growth of aquaculture production in general (Asche 2008;Kumar & Engle 2016;Garlock et al 2020), and makes production area-intensive.…”

“…Growth rate of mussels is higher in off-bottom cultures, and higher when mussels are continually submerged than in inter-tidal zones (Kamermans & Capelle 2019). Rafts require a minimum depth of 8-10 m to be efficient (FIgueiras et al 2002;Labarta & Fernández Reiriz 2019). Longlines require larger areas that are not always available due to competing water usages; however, it does enable mussel culture in shallow waters where rafts would not be suitable.…”

“…The mussel is cultivated mostly in Galicia, where it is a traditional and consolidated sector with a significant impact on the economy (Labarta & Fernández-Reiriz 2019). Most of the people working in the sector are from the local areas.…”

“…The fresh mussel markets in Galicia (Spain), in which the producer organizations themselves own marketing facilities, combined with the high volumes exported (especially to France and Italy) have transformed the marketing channels in Spain. This led to the increasing incidence of the major retailer chains, mainly Mercadona-who may have sold around 25 000 tonnes of fresh mussels from the Galician Rias-as well as others, such as Carrefour, Eroski and Gadis whose supplier strategy is one of agreements with processing companies, all of which helped to consolidate the fresh mussel market in Spain (Labarta & Fernández Reiriz 2019).…”

Identification of Emerging Hazards in Mussels by the Galician Emerging Food Safety Risks Network (RISEGAL). A First Approach

“…Beside mussels, oysters, clams, and cockles are also important primary products of the region. This high production has consolidated a highly profitable long-term stable market for Galicia [ 3 ].…”