The Food of the Common Man
If oysters are the food of kings, then the mussel is the food of the common man. The Limfjord Company is well aware of this, and so mussel production has become far more important than oysters for the royal concessionary company. Every day the Limfjord Company harvests around 300 tons of wild mussels on the sand bars around the island of Mors in the Limfjord.
E arly in the morning the fishing boats set off from the harbours around Mors. According to a carefully planned grid which divides the Limfjord into sections, the common mussel is fished when the industry’s laboratories have approved their quality. Later in the morning the boats tie up at the quays and ton after ton of the delicious shellfish go directly from the holds to be cleaned and boiled.
“The Limfjord is the only place in the world where 100% wild mussels are fished,” says export director Knud Skovsager of the Limfjord Company. “For quality and taste they are something quite unique. The relatively cold water and the combination of fresh seawater and large amounts of plankton in the Limfjord mean slow growth but perfect consistency and taste.” Approximately 40,000 tons of mussels from the Limfjord go through the company’s production plant annually. Around half of the catch is frozen while the other half is processed and preserved. The Limfjord Company produces a number of mussel specialities, some natural and others as part of ready-prepared dishes or delicacies in different marinades.
“The vast majority goes to Southern European countries, but now the Russian market is becoming aware of Limfjord mussels. In Russia it is a high status product in line with our caviar which is produced from lumpfish roe,” says Skovsager.
Fishing for mussels in the Limfjord is one of the most strictly controlled maritime activities in Denmark. The regulations protect against overfishing and catching mussels with an excessive concentration of algae. The mussels in the Limfjord are themselves part of raising water quality because their gills filter micro-organisms from the water. In addition there is a large amount of continuous control work carried out in laboratories which ensures the high quality of Limfjord mussels.
|
