The Blue Mussel
Boston Bay as a farming region is like Barossa Valley is wine- mix of perfect growing conditions ans best in class farming producing a consistent, high quality product.
Three times the size of Sydney Harbour, Boston Bay is where the desert meets the sea, an area of coastal savannah and spectacular rugged seas.
The mussel farming industry is only relatively new to Boston Bay, but with ten years under it's belt, it has proved to be an ideal location for farming mussels in Australia.This is thanks to the phenomenal natural environment of Boston Bay- fed by the nutrient rich waters from the Southern Ocean. These conditions are ideal for growing soft and sweet Blue Mussels.
Photo: www.seafoodfrontier.com.au
Unlike the Eyre Peninsula's Mussel farmers, mussel farmers in Tasmania and Victoria have to rely on hatchery produced spat, which is difficult and expensive.In Boston Bay, the farmers can catch wild spat and can grow them to market size in 9-12 months. The Australian Blue Mussels grown in Boston Bay are characterised by their sweet and clean flavour and buttery texture.The mussel farming in Boston Bay is based on the long-line system, where mussel spat is 'seeded' into lines which are suspended into the water at between two and fifteen metres below the surface.This form of growing removes the need for the mussels to be purged of sand or mud post harvesting, unlike European dredged mussels.
Photo: seafoodfrontier.com.au
Is a simple bivalve mollusc, which opportunistically feeds on the nutrients available to them in the water, mussels don't require any additional feeding, making them environmentally benign and low maintenance.
Mussels are a true reflection of the environment in which they grow with the flavour and texture reflective of the water from which they come. The unique nature and abundant quality of the food available to the mussels of the Eyre Peninsula produces a unique sweetness.
Blue Mussels from the Eyre Peninsula are simple to use and delicious, it is no wonder that they are fast finding popularity amoungst all levels of the food service industry, from fine dining to the humblest pub.
The new industry standard for mussels from the Eyre Peninsula is a pre-scrubbed, graded and de-bearded mussel, pre-packed in a ready-to-use form.These pre-packed mussels offer much more than convenience, the pre-packed live animals experience far less stressed existence than their loose packed cousins.The result is that the characteristic sweetness of the Eyre Peninsula mussel is retained.
Information: The SEAFOOD of the Eyre Peninsula- Australia's Seafood Frontier Book
http://seafoodfrontier.com.au/fresh-premium-seafood/
