Mussels
Mussels commonly grow
on the rocks and seabed of many
Scottish lochs, feeding on natural
plankton.
Breeding takes place in the spring
and early summer, resulting in
millions of tiny mussel spat
drifting in the currents.
Farming relies on
the collection of this spat, which
attach themselves to ropes suspended
in the sea beneath rafts or
longlines. They are then grown on
the ropes for two to three
years. This methos of
production means shells never touch
the seabed, guaranteeing grit-free
meats.
When the mussels are ready to
harvest, they are stripped from
their ropes, washed,
graded and sent by
chilled transport to SSMG's
headquarters for quality
control checks and final
packing.
With their fine shells
and plump,
juicy meats, SSMG's rope
grown mussels make an attractive
dish. They are particularl
y
easy to prepare and
cook in minutes.
Mussels are available live in-shell
and as ready-meals in a choice of
sauces.
Scallops
King and
Queen Scallops are farmed using many
different systems, but
all spat is collected from the wild.
Scallop spat is grown in fine mesh 'pockets'
or 'lanterns'
suspended beneath long-line systems,
until it is around 2 years old.
At this time King scallops
may be placed on the sea bed or in
larger-sized lanterns and ongrown
until marketable. Kings take
4-5 years to reach the
minimum shell size of 105mm. Queen
scallops take only around 2
years to reach harvestable
size and are harvested straight from
the lanterns.
King Scallops are currently sold
both live in-shell and as unsoaked
scallop meat.
Oysters
The most common method of farming oysters is to place them in large net bags which are laid on trestles in the water.
The trestles are placed so that they are only uncovered during Spring tides i.e. twice per month.
Oysters ready for harvest are brought closer to the shore for 'hardening-off'. When laid closer to the shore they are exposed to the air twice each day and learn to open and shut their shells, thus extending their shelf-life.
The Pacific oyster does not breed naturally in Scotland and all seed is produced in a hatchery.
Oyster seed takes around 3-3½ years to reach minimum marketable size.
There are a few wild beds of Native oysters around the coast and a limited quantity of Natives is also farmed.
These oysters are more difficult to grow and take 4-5 years to reach market size. |
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Oyster farming
in Scotland
starts when seed
produced in a
hatchery is
transferred to
the sea. It is
placed in mesh
bags that are
laid on low
tristles on the
shore at the low
tide mark.
As the oysters
grow they are
regularly graded
and
thinned
out to give them
optimum
growing
conditions.
In the cold
northern waters,
the Pacific
oyster takes
two to
three years
to reach harvest
size while the
native oyster
takes at
least four years.
When ready for
market, oysters
are despatched
to
SSMG's
headquarters
where they are
kept in
purified water
holding tanks.
After the final
quality control
checks they are
ready for
delivery
via chilled
transport
to the customer.
Oysters are sold
either whole,
live in-shell or
as a half shell
frozen.
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