Longline systems consist of floats that are attached along long main lines. Under the main lines, different types of rope are tied to farm mussels at different stages of the growth process.
The farming of mussels on longline systems can be divided into the two farming methods below.
Mussel seed capture installations (MZI)
In MZI farming, a capture rope is knotted below the main line. The mussel larve which is present in the water column attaches to the rope and grows into mussel spat (baby mussels). This mussel spat is then removed from the rope and can be used to breed mussels for consumption (in rope culture or bottom culture).
Rope culture
The rope culture farming method is widely used abroad, but also increasingly in the Netherlands. A loop rope is tied underneath the main line, surrounded by a knitted cotton sock. Between the sock and the loop rope (small) mussels are put that can grow on the ropes into consumption mussels. In the meantime the cotton sock is digested and when the mussels are fully grown they are stripped from the rope and processed ashore.
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