waterford mussels

can anyone give me some tips on how to collect a pot of mussels in waterford daughter is giving me hassle to get them all the time tryed between tramore and dunmore at low tide but no luck ended up in tesco again goin to head tramore on to dungarvan direction next few days any one with any info deeply appreciated pm maybe or even some tips please

hi Brow, I'd be kind of careful about the shellfish you find and eat on the coast. we produce oysters in Dungarvan and before they are released for sale to the general public they go through a purification phase by where they are left in treated water for a period of time to remove any impurities they might have picked up from the environment i.e. pollution, ecoli. but as long as you cook the mussels you should be fine

But thats being extremely cautious. contradicting what i said above id eat the local sea food in dungarvan without purification without hesitation. In abbeyside (Waterford side of dungarvan) in front of the church theres mussel beds which can be easily accessed at low tide

sound i dug rag from a beach before that was supposed to have beds there but cant recall seeing decent mussels there plus theres a large pipe with running water in the middle of it so it cant be fresh water must be sewage if u were to get them what would u be lookin out for
and are u aware of any warnings or bans on shellfish in our area dont want to poisin the house lol

sound i dug rag from a beach before that was supposed to have beds there but cant recall seeing decent mussels there plus theres a large pipe with running water in the middle of it so it cant be fresh water must be sewage if u were to get them what would u be lookin out for
and are u aware of any warnings or bans on shellfish in our area dont want to poisin the house lol

Keeping the sewage in mind you might be better off staying away from the town.. I'll talk to the guys working at the oysters tomorrow and see if they can help you out as they are a nuisance to them and are usually taken off the oyster bags and discarded

Hi
Collecting mussels from the shore for a feed is not something I would advise unless you really know what your doing or really know the area. I am not trying to scare here but Shellfish even when cooked can cause serious human health issues.

There are two elements to how shellfish can make you sick.
1. Eating shellfish from where there is human or agricultural sewage. There is a classification of shellfish waters in Ireland where if the water has been assessed over time and is monitored for what they call coli-forms (bacteria from a mammal gut). Shellfish from Category A waters can be eaten with no issues. Category B the shellfish need to be allowed to clean out over a period of time, usually about 24-36 hours, in clean water usually in a closed system called depuration. Category C is basically a no for human consumption. http://www.sfpa.ie/SeafoodSafety/Shellf ... Areas.aspx

2. The second and most important factor to take into account are biotoxins. These are microscopic plants that are eaten by the shellfish and contain something that we are severely allergic to. These biotoxins can make you very ill and can occur at different times of the year. In Ireland we have one of the safest early warning system in the world for making sure that no mussels of oysters can be sold on the market without first having the all clear on biotoxins. Weekly water samples are taken by shellfish farmers and the SFPA take samples of the shellfish, for testing, before the shellfish can be released to market. Only accredited labs can test and in Ireland this is done by the Marine Institute.Shellfish contaminated with Biotoxin cannot be depurated or cleaned. Only time will clear them and this can take months.
http://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/dat ... afety-data

So in a nut shell. Know your water classification for the area your taking the mussels from and check the situation with the biotoxins for the area as well using the websites attached.
Hope this helps.

CAZ

nice one lads fair bit o hassle involved by the sound of it not as easy as a pot of winkles nothing is ever easy it those links are good info too thanks

loads of mussels in arthurstown on low tide but you will have to pul them off the rocks