Mussel farming has a long history that dates back to the thirteenth century. Mussels are farmed in many areas of the world with the most common species cultured being the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. The main producers of mussels are countries such as China, Korea, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, France and New Zealand. In 1997, 1.1 million tonnes of mussels were produced worldwide, with most production occurring in China nearly 400,000 tonnes. The Australian mussel industry is relatively small compared with world standards and in 199899, the total Australian production of mussels was 1,297 tonnes. Since last reviewed by Lawrence 1995, the Western Australian industry has shown good growth, increasing from 127 tonnes in 199091 to 506 tonnes in 199697 to 679 tonnes in 199899.

Address: P O Box 55, Mount Hawthorn WA 6915
Telephone: (08) 9340 5055
Fax: (08) 9340 5099
Website: http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/aqwa/BlueMussels/index.php?0308