A cool lager and a couple of dozen of Marlborough green lipped mussels ... a simple but superb lunchtime snackfrom Leuven Bar & Cafe on Featherston Street
The green lipped mussel as a shellfish is economically important to New Zealand. It differs from other mussel species in that it has a dark brown/green shell, a green lip around the edge of the shells and only has one abductor muscle. It is also one of the largest mussel species growing up to 240 mm in length.
This species of mussel is endemic to New Zealand, and is also an introduced pest in Australian waters. They are commercially farmed and the main producing region is the Marlborough Sounds which are located at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. This is a beautiful part of New Zealand with great scenery and unpolluted waters.
The mussel farming industry in the Marlborough Sounds started in the sea's. The early days of the industry were dominated by research and development, local sales, and an extract used to help alleviate arthritis.
New Zealand today has over 550 mussel farms totaling 4500 hectares, most of them in the Marlborough Sounds. Large farms proposed for open coastal regions could result in a 10-fold expansion in area in the near future, and increased awareness of mussel farming’s impact on the marine environment. We know that the Marlborough Sounds is a place of outstanding beauty, where wedge-shaped hills shelter a network of shining waterways. With few roads connecting the Pelorus, Queen Charlotte, Anakiwa and outer Sounds, many bays and coves are seldom visited. This is the environment where several hundred mussel farmers cultivate New Zealand Greenshell mussels, inconspicuous beneath barrel-like floats. This paradise is the workplace where marine farming staff, utilising world leading technologies, cultivate Marlborough’s world famous products.
Green-lipped mussels contain high levels of glycosaminoglycan which is reputed to assist in the repair of damaged joint tissues.
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