The Vilsund Blue Limfjord rope-grown mussel fishery has earned Marine Stewardship Council certification, making 100 percent of Danish mussel exports eligible to carry the MSC eco-label.
The first Danish mussels fishery earned MSC certification in April 2008. Since then, five Danish mussel fisheries have earned the distinction.
The Vilsund Blue fishery grows about 1,000 to 2,000 metric metric tons of rope-grown mussels annually. Mussel larvae are harvested from the plankton and grown to full size on the mussel farms. All of the cultivation activity takes place on ropes, which have very little effect on their surroundings, and the cultivation process requires no external inputs of food or any chemicals. A management system is in place through the Danish Directorate of Fisheries, and the mussel farming industry is working closely with regulators and scientists to develop the industry sustainably.
A total of 42,500 metric tons of Danish mussels bear the MSC eco-label for sale domestically or exported to markets from Europe to the Middle East.
