Mussels-Green gold for fisherfolk?

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute at Kochi has developed culture methods such as pole culture and rack and ren method in back waters or estuaries. The rack and ren method is the most commonly used. The mussel seeds are collected from rocks during July-September. The seeds are spread on cotton mosquito netting which are wrapped on the poles or wrapped on the ropes which are suspended from racks. The pole method and rack method is done in estuaries at 2.5 m depth. After 2-3 days, the cotton mosquito netting gets torn off and the mussel seeds stick to the poles or ropes. The seeding rate is 0.75 to 1.0 kg/m of rope. At the end of 6 months, the mussels grow to 90-100 mm in length and are ready for harvest. Harvest is done manually. The yield is 150t/ha