- HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION FULL
- HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION TRIAL
- HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION PLUS
HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION FULL
Yes, it would be easier with a crane… and, yes, that too is on the wish list! Once the mussels have settled and have grown a little – generally by late July / early August – the coils are undone and released to their full length, giving the mussels space to grow. The droppers are tied onto the header ropes with a clove hitch, and we set up a system with the header ropes over the bow of the boat, tied on the droppers and then pulled ourselves along to the next section of headers. The droppers are coiled so they hang in the top couple of metres of water, as this is best for spat collection, while the slightly lower salinity in the surface waters reduces the biofouling on the ropes. At 20 cm intervals there are plastic pegs through the rope that help support the mussels as they grow and stop them sliding off the rope.
HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION PLUS
This would allow us to compare levels of production and ease of deployment and eventually harvesting of the two different systems – plus it made sense to reuse the droppers that we had salvaged from the seabed rather than buy new.ĭropper lines are generally 6-8 m of polypropylene rope, with a weight at the bottom.
HOMEOWNER OYSTER SPAT COLLECTION TRIAL
We decided to trial two different spat collection methods at our sites in Loch Slapin and Loch Eishort. The next stage is to prepare the spat collection ropes. Continuous spat collection ropes - one of two methods trialled by the Isle of Skye Mussel Co this season And, more importantly, this should then reduce any chance of lines tangling and means there is space between the header lines for manoeuvring the mussel boats without snagging a propeller. It was amazingly satisfying to see the double header line with 400-litre floats pull into a straight line between the moorings at each end.
Once at the connection point between the two header ropes and the mooring line, put tension in the ropes and pull as tight as possible – we used a chain block and a lot of oomph to pull out the slack before retying the header lines to mooring lines. This involves choosing the calmest day you can, at low water. We were also told by several of our mussel farmer friends to ensure that the header ropes are tight. Much head scratching later, engine fixed and a new fuel primer bulb ordered, and the line was in and tied safely to the moorings. Right until the engine died mid-way through uncoiling, just as the wind picked up. Towing out the line and floats to the site and uncoiling them seemed way easier than we’d expected. Our voe boat did us proud – even with her little 25hp engine. We made this header line up ashore, attaching the floats every 20 m and coiling the rope. However, we also decided to trial a single header rope attached only at one end to a float. Most of our lines are double header lines – ie two 32 mm diameter lines, which are 220 m long and held apart by 400-litre floats. So we later went back and lashed them all on again with a thinner rope, which seemed much more secure.Ī lovely Irish mussel farmer emailed us out of the blue and detailed the hydraulic system they use for tying on floats – it looks amazing, effective and simple to use, so is now also on the wish list. We tried one technique we’d seen online but knew that if you don’t tie them on firmly enough they’ll rub and cut through the header lines. The next step was to tie on the floats, and that in itself is not simple. The header ropes last many, many years but can fray due to friction in very stormy conditions if anything tied on isn’t fixed firmly enough, so we needed to remove any that weren’t intact, to be spliced and reused at a later date. Cleaning the lines took an age, as we had to remove all the old remnants of rope that had once held a mussel float or a dropper line.
Making use of the old lines at the site saved us money, but not time and effort. The first step in getting the site ready is to prepare the header lines. Different mussel farmers use different types and systems of rope for their spat collection, so we decided to try a few different methods at our sites to work out what is most productive for us and our site conditions. Environmental conditions – including water salinity and current – dictate the best depth for setting your spat collection ropes at (anything from the top 1m to 4m deep), and timing depends on location. The word is that every mussel site has a different depth and time window which is best for spat collection. Sounds simple enough, but it actually involves many jobs. Given that the time from spat collection to harvest is 30 to 36 months (the same time period before any income is generated) it’s critical to get those ropes in the water in time for the young mussels to attach themselves.
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