Green mussels are easy to raise and require little capital.

Green mussel (Perna viridis) is a bivalve mollusk that lives in sandy bottoms, rocky reefs, corals, and coastal estuaries in our country. In addition to its high nutritional value as food, green mussels are also used as medicine and their shells are used to make handicrafts.

Biological characteristics

The green mussel (named for its green shell), is an economically important bivalve mussel in the family Mytilidae. It is found in the Asia-Pacific region and has been extensively farmed in Japan, China, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Mussels are similar in shape to clams (clams) but their shells are longer, oval and have smooth growth lines. The thoracic region is located towards the bottom of the shell, not in the middle like clams. Young mussels often have blue or green shells; when mature, the shell turns dark brown, the inside of the shell is shiny white. Mussels live mainly in the low-tide zone to a depth of about 10 m of water, salinity 20 - 30‰, hard bottom, rocks, gravel, wood... In brackish water (estuaries), mussels often lie at the bottom of the water. In tidal areas, they often cling to reefs and corals with thick bundles of fibers.

Like other mollusks, mussels have a filter feeding habit by sucking water into their bodies and then releasing it, food is retained in their gills. Mussels' food is plankton and suspended matter in the water. Mussels are sexually reproducing, have high fertility and mature after 1 - 2 years of age, the main breeding season is April - May and September - November. During the breeding season, when conditions are favorable, just a small change in the environment (temperature, salinity) all mussels (male and female) in the area release their reproductive products (eggs and sperm) into the water. Eggs and sperm are fertilized in the water, develop into floating larvae, after a while they metamorphose and switch to living attached to the substrate. This form of reproduction will help mussels have a greater chance of survival and a wider distribution. Mussels have a fast growth rate, after one year they can reach 8 - 12 cm in size, 30 - 40 g/piece.

Breeding situation

In nature, green mussels are easy to exploit, so mussel resources are gradually decreasing. Currently, green mussels are an important farming species in Vietnam, with farming areas concentrated in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Lang Co lagoon (Thua Thien - Hue province), Nha Phu lagoon (Khanh Hoa province) and Kien Giang.

Currently, Vietnam has been proactive in breeding, however, the source of breeding is still limited, so the current form of mussel farming is rarely done by hanging (artificial breeding) but mainly by pole farming to get breeding from nature. In areas where mussels are naturally distributed, people only need to buy wooden poles (diameter 5 - 10 cm) 2 - 3 m long and stick them in the lagoon or coastal narrows with a density of 2 poles/m2. After 15 days of hatching, the mussel larvae will stick to the poles and grow. After 4 months, the poles can be checked, some can be removed if the density of mussels is too thick and the poles can be moved to another area if the mussels are found to be dead due to polluted water. After 8 - 10 months, the harvest can be done. All mussels should be collected before the Lunar New Year to avoid the epidemic season (January - February), clean the poles and wait until the mussel breeding season to continue planting for the new crop.

Mussel meat has a slightly sweet taste, is delicious, nutritious, and can be eaten fresh, steamed, grilled, dried, or frozen for export. The green mussel shell has a thick layer of nacre, so it can be made into many handicraft items. Mussels are also used to make green mussel oil to treat bone and joint diseases.

According to Thuysanvn