Mussels are by far Europe’s most abundant mollusk with almost 477,000 metric tons (MT) of wild and cultivated blue and Mediterranean mussels produced in 2010, according to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). By comparison, Pacific oyster production in second place totaled 105,000 MT that year.
The European mussel industry, which had a total value of around EUR 390 million (USD 505 million) in 2010, is led by Spain with an annual production of between 250,000 and 300,000 MT. Spain focuses on the Mediterranean species (Mytilus galloprovincialis), almost all of which is produced in the Galicia region. The country actually produces more mussels than all the other top six European producing nations — the Netherlands, France, Italy, the U.K. and Ireland — combined.
As an end-market, however, it’s the U.K. in fifth-place that’s currently proving the most dynamic. Speaking at the Shellfish Association of Great Britain’s annual conference, Stephen Cameron, managing director of the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG), said retail mussel sales had grown by double-digit amounts over the last year.
Around 4,000 MT of mussels with a total value of GBP 21 million (EUR 26.1 million/USD 33.7 million) are sold in the U.K. retail market each year. The growing trend in this category is for pre-packed value-added mussel products, such as those presented in white wine or garlic sauces.
Cameron confirmed year-on-year retail sales of cooked mussels and live mussels had increased by 16 percent and 20 percent, respectively. On the downside, sales of cooked mussel meat and marinated mussels had declined.
He also said market research conducted by Nielsen found mussels tend to be purchased by older, more affluent shoppers but that younger demographics were being attracted by new flavor options — a trend that SSMG would continue to pursue in the future.
In terms of production, the U.K. mussel sector focuses on the common blue mussel variety Mytilus edulis, which literally translated means “edible mussel.” The country produced 30,212 MT of farmed mussels in 2010 comprising harvests of 7,199 MT in Scotland, 3,233 MT in England, 8,960 MT in Wales and 10,820 MT in Northern Ireland.
Production in both England and Wales decreased by one-third in 2010 but grew by 35 percent in Northern Ireland and by 14 percent in Scotland. However, the Scottish Shellfish Farm Production Survey 2011 puts the 2011 production at 6,995 MT, 3 percent less than the previous year. It said this was partly due to variations in spat fall.
In addition to the farmed mussels, the U.K. fishing fleet landed 5,200 MT of the shellfish with a landed value of GBP 200,000 (EUR 248,170/USD 321,418) in 2010, said the country’s Marine Management Organization (MMO).
In spite of its growing affection for mussels, the United Kingdom remains a net exporter of shellfish, with around 85,300 MT leaving the country in 2010, compared with imports of 63,800 MT. And as the country’s primary mollusk, mussels are no exception to this trend. It exported 11,329 MT of mussels in 2010, of this 11,271 MT was exported to other EU countries. Its imports in the same year totaled 3,602 MT, of which 2,809 came in from other EU member states.
