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Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 08 10:51 pm Post subject: Mussels
Can someone explain what lies behind the R in the month thingy for gathering mussels, just been talking to a friend about it but I cannot remember why!

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 12:02 am Post subject:
Water tempreture & breeding cycle. You can eat them then but they are not in their prime due to loosing condition whilst breeding & they "might" contain a higher bacterial load due to warmer conditions, this however should not worry you IF you choose your collection site well. Richard

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46193
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 12:10 am Post subject:
clean water date dont matter

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 6:18 am Post subject:

Not sure about mussels but some shellfish have a closed season to allow them to breed and that coincides with the summer months, winkles for example.

As for the water quality, I thought mussels can consume toxic algae and the toxins remain in their flesh? As these algal blooms are quite wide ranging in warm summers it's hard to guarantee clean water. And when there's heavy rain even the cleanest of beaches can be swamped with polluted water.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 6:37 am Post subject:
Thanks. As I pick mine from the beach in a fast flowing as clean as you can get estuary I feel quite confident about them. TD you might be right but I ate a lot of these in my childhood from the same spot and have been eating them all summer... It's toooooo late.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 7:14 am Post subject:
You should be ok then. Funnily enough I came across a site run by some professional body for shell fishermen and it basically said people should collect their own as they didn't know what they were doing. I know quite a few people who collect their own and never heard of anyone making themselves ill and I know of a few people who've been made ill by stuff they've bought!

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 8:25 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I know quite a few people who collect their own and never heard of anyone making themselves ill and I know of a few people who've been made ill by stuff they've bought!

I've been ill with self gathered mussels. I think I under cooked them though. But you're right, it isn't common, at least if you gather from clean areas.

Regarding the 'r' in the month, its really a quality and population thing. Yes, they're breeding in summer so you've got a bigger impact on the population, but also when they're putting more energy into breeding then they're just not as good to eat. Still scrummy, if you're a fan of them, but not as good.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 8:41 am Post subject:
Out of interest unless you are getting native species of oysters rather than the originally foreign strains now raised here, it doesn't matter, because the water temp doesn't get high enough for them to breed, so all their efforts go into growing.

Green Rosie

Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 08 11:53 am Post subject:
Just about to eat a huge bowl of mussels for lunch - with lots of baguette to scoup up the juices

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