The decline of mussel aquaculture in the European Union: causes, economic impacts and opportunities

TLDR

EU mussel aquaculture has declined over the past two decades, falling 20 % from 600 000 to 480 000 tonnes by 2016, and accounting for over a third of EU aquaculture output, with diseases, seed shortages, and low profitability cited as primary causes. The study investigates how economic and environmental factors contributed to this decline and examines the differential impacts of production techniques (raft, longline, on‑bottom, and bouchot) by analysing economic performance and cost‑structure evolution from 2010 to 2016. The authors complement this analysis with a SWOT assessment of the EU mussel sector based on expert knowledge.

Abstract

In contrast to the increasing aquaculture production of mussels worldwide, production in the European Union (EU) has shown a decreasing trend over the last two decades. Aquaculture production of mussels in the EU peaked in the late 1990s at more than 600 000 tonnes; by 2016, production volume had dropped by 20% to 480 000 tonnes. As mussel production represents more than ⅓ of EU aquaculture production, this decrease is an important contributor to the stagnation of EU aquaculture. Previous studies have suggested diseases, lack of mussel seed (spat), and low profitability as the main causes of the EU mussel production decrease. In this study, we investigate how economic and environmental factors have contributed. Moreover, we examine if the different mussel production techniques (raft, longline, on-bottom, and ‘bouchot’) have been differently affected, by analysing the economic performance and cost structure evolution for the period 2010–2016. We complement these results with a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the EU mussel sector based on expert knowledge.