Different coloured mussels, with varied flavours, more meat, and a softer texture, are being bred in Nelson and could end up in stores.
Aquaculture scientist Nick King, of the Cawthron Institute, said the different coloured mussels included vibrant green and yellow-coloured shells, while other new varieties had slightly different tastes – some sweet and others salty like seaweed.
Mussels had already been successfully bred so they had different textures that were not as gritty, while others had more meat inside the shell. Others had been grown that were able to survive out of water for up to 20 days, providing extra potential for export sales.
Work was also under way to breed mussels that grew faster to reduce the two-to-three-year time frame leading to greater returns for industry.
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