MUSSELS HARVESTING:101

[John Pierce]

MUSSELS HARVESTING 101

TOOLS

• Gloves: Optional, as mussels are sharp.
• Crowbar/Screwdriver: Often used to pry mussels off rocks, not allowed in BC, have to be hand picking only.
• Stainless Steel Scourer: To clean beard (hairs) off mussel shells.
• Knife: Optional, to clean barnacles off mussel shells, can also use one mussel on another with barnacles.
• Waterproof Bag or Plastic Bucket: For transporting mussels in seawater.

LOCATION

• Rocks (ie protected crevices from logs) or piers below high tide mark, sandy locations can result in mussels needing more purging as more grit/sand in them.
• Want medium or large size (tend to be at lowest tide mark, normally when full or new moons every two weeks), small not enough meat.
• Want clean mussels ideally free of barnacles as easier to clean. Note, barnacles do not change taste, just cleaning time.

METHOD

• Dig fingers in beside mussel that are not too tightly packed and twist and pull individual mussel off rock.
• Scrape mussels with scourer to clean and remove beard, if present, scrape barnacles off with knife.
• Place in bucket with some sea water for transport.

HANDLING

• CULLING: Never consume, if remain open when handled, dead, toss.
• PURGING: To reduce grittiness, you'll want to "purge" the sand from your catch by submerging them in water for a few hours, use the water they came from to keep them cool in the process.
• STORING: After purge, store in an open container in an ice chest or a refrigerator and drape a moist cloth or wet paper towels over the shellfish to keep them alive. Never seal them in a plastic bag or plastic containers — they need to breathe to live. Stored properly, they can be kept for several days.

SUMMER CLAMMING

• TIDES: In summer low tides occur during the day, in winter they are at night. Thus for summer clamming, daytime is best.
• MOON: The most extreme tides are during new moon and full moon, thus optimal time during summer is daylight when close to a new or full moon.

WINTER CLAMMING

• TIDES: In winter low tides occur at night, in summer they during the day. Thus for clamming in winter, beach access is best at night.
• MOON: The most extreme tides are during new moon and full moon, thus if clamming in winter, optimal evenings are when at full moon, when you have good light - provided the clouds are not too thick, also at new moon but then will need a headlight.

GOVT RULES

• AREA: Check DFO regulations for closures, in addition DFO says not allowed to harvest 1) within 125 metres around a marina, ferry wharf, floating living accommodation, or any finfish net pen, and 2) 300 metres around industrial, municipal and sewage treatment plant outfall discharges.
• AMOUNT: Check DFO regulations for area, normally 75 for Blue Mussels (can reach 9 cm in length), 25 for California Mussels (common on wave-swept rocky shores, can grow to 25 cm in length) per person per day, combined limit is 75, not 75+25! Possession is double.
• SIZE: No constraint from DFO.

REFERENCE

• Video - California Coastal Foraging for Beginners
• Video - California Mussel Foraging
• Video - Oregon Mussel Hunt
• Video - Devon UK Mussel Foraging