Global warming threatens Normandy mussels
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Wild mussels have almost disappeared and farmed mussels are being attacked by more predators.
Caen (Calvados)
Long called “the black gold of Normandy», the wild mussel from the Channel and Calvados has, for the sixth consecutive season, almost disappeared from the plates. This is the case, for example, with Barfleur blonde, once acclaimed by restaurateurs for its very fleshy consistency. “We already know that the summer of 2023 will still be without…”sighs Dimitri Rogoff, president of the Normandy regional fisheries committee.
Does this mean that the wild mussel of Normandy, which made work each year up to fifty boats between June and October, will never return? “To be honest, we are in front of an unknown”recognizes Dimitri Rogoff, who mentions several factors: the warming of the sea, changing currents which would deviate the larvae leaving formerly from Ouistreham to the coasts of Cotentin, a killer bacterium…
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For Norman fishermen, who brought back up to 3 tonnes of wild mussels per year less than 10 km from the coast, the loss of earnings is estimated for some at more than 20% of their income. “As a result, many have converted to scallops or fish”observes Dimitri Rogoff.
Research projects
Norman restaurateurs have also adapted. As in Cherbourg this summer, they now mainly serve mussels from Dunkirk, or even from the Netherlands. A shame for the Normans. Some restaurants still offer bouchot mussels, that is to say mussels from Granville or Mont-Saint-Michel. But, it remains on average 20% more expensive per kilo for professionals.
In the meantime, to try to explain this disappearance of the six large deposits of wild mussels in the Channel and Calvados, the Normandy region, in conjunction with Ifremer and the University of Caen, has funded several research programs to the tune of 285,000 euro. A doctoral student, Hélène Bouras, is said to have recently isolated a killer bacterium: the Francisella halioticida.
Due to the proliferation of spider crabs, Norman mussel farmers failed to gain market share after the disappearance of wild mussels
Thierry Hélie, president of the regional shellfish farming committee
As for farmed mussels, the situation is also becoming critical. Clotilde Eudier, vice-president of the regional council in charge of fishing, points to an upsurge in attacks by natural predators: spider crabs, gulls or even sea bream. In question, again, “new behaviors due to the warming of the Channel water”. Up to 1.5 degrees for ten years, according to the elected. To deal with this, in conjunction with the mussel farmers, the region has financed, to the tune of 36,500 euros, a project “net spacers to protect the poles from spider crabs”.
The subject is sensitive. Chairman of the regional shellfish farming committee, Thierry Hélie confirms that“Because of the proliferation of spider crabs, Norman mussel farmers were unable to gain market share after the disappearance of wild mussels”. Spiders would destroy up to 30% of mussel spat, thus causing annual production to stagnate at 16,000 tonnes. That is 37% of national production for 1,200 jobs.
SEE ALSO – Drought: in the North, unprecedented restrictions and thirsty potatoes
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