How are mussels grown?
The farming of mussels in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port is currently made up of three main processes. Mussel spat collection involves the positioning of ropes in the water during winter onto which natural larval mussels attach and grow. Mussel socking involves the removal of the mussel spat from the collector ropes in the following summer. This spat is cleaned, graded and then attached to the growout ropes using a fine mesh socking material. Mussel growout is illustrated in the diagram adjacent. It involves attachment of the socked ropes (droppers) to a ‘headline’ (rope with floats attached) that are usually 100 – 150 m in length. The mussels are then on-grown for a further 6 – 12 months before harvest.
