MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands Fresh: Working with nature to produce fine seafood.
FRESH mussels, crab, oysters and mullet - some of the healthiest, freshest produce to grace the shelves of the food hall.
Being of an inquiring nature, (some would say nosey) I wondered what went on behind the scenes before these nutritious seafoods hit the shelves. Falklands Fresh Ltd is the company that quietly and unobtrusively farms, harvests, prepares and exports these quality products. Fresh mullet and crab have been available for so long that we take them for granted, not being aware of the work that goes into the preparation or the fact that they are available all year round - working in and around our freezing cold waters throughout the winter months has to be less than comfortable. Mussels are the latest product to grace the shelves and it was the notion of farming and harvesting this familiar bi-valve so plentiful around our shores that prompted me to join the Falklands Fresh team on a mussel harvesting expedition. But, before the mussels can be harvested they have to be grown; water currents, tides, exposure, wind directions, water quality, food availability, water temperature, pH, oxygen and salinity have to be considered. The close vicinity of natural mussel beds is a must and a site where the natural settlement of mussel spat will take place is also essential.
Manager of Falklands Fresh Simon Hardcastle has spent many years studying aquaculture and has been instrumental in trialing many projects over the years. After completing his O and A levels Simon studied Fisheries Management at Sparsholt, the Hampshire College of Agriculture near Winchester. He also attended Stirling University, studying fish nutrition and making salmon feed diets out of krill and mullet from the Falklands.
In 1986 he set up the Fox Bay Salmon Farm under guidance from Stirling University and also helped to run a trout farm near Salisbury for several years. Simon approached the Falkland Islands Development Corporation, (FIDC) to look into inshore fisheries. Commercial production of salmon farming, oyster farming, mussel farming, mullet fishing, Falkland seaweed production and crab fishing were all studied in depth. Simon explained, "After a year I found a commercial partner - Golden Touza - and in 1999 the company Falklands Fresh Ltd was born with FIDC, Golden Touza and myself being shareholders. Once Falklands Fresh Ltd was up and running FIDC relinquished their shares and I have been running the company ever since."
But back to the mussels, once a suitable breeding and growing site has been established the method employed for growing them is almost beautiful in its simplicity. Ropes are suspended in the water from a main rope held on the surface by buoys. Five, four metre lengths of 10mm rope every two meters are suspended in the water with a weight on the end to keep them stationery. Adult mussels spawn into the water and larvae, which Simon describes as, "...little blobs of jelly," can drift about in the water currents and tides for up to six weeks as they develop. The mussel spat settle on suitable substrate, in this case the hanging ropes. The spat can initially attach and detach until they find the right living conditions. Simon explained that it is ideal to get one cohort of spat from a single defined spawning to produce mussels of the same age and size when harvesting, adding, ".mussels generally, in Falkland waters, take up to 30 months to grow to market size." Harvesting takes place in winter when mussels are at their fattest and in peak condition and this was when I joined the team at Goose Green.
Falklands Fresh currently employs seven local people excluding Simon, two of whom are on a youth government training employment scheme. I joined Simon and ?skipper' Sophia Clausen who has been with Falkland Fresh for three years onboard the Island Maidon a glorious calm and clear day at the end of August. We travelled out to the buoys anchoring the ropes in place and tied up at the area to be harvested. Simon and Sophia were wearing waders and shirts whereas I was having difficulty moving I was so wrapped up in countless layers of clothes. Hardy, seafaring types I thought but, within minutes, I could see why. Sleeves rolled up, the pair started heaving the huge clumps of mussels into the boat and stripping them into plastic bins. There must have been in the region of 40 kilos on each rope and it was no mean feat to get them into the boat. After taking a few photos I just had to help and, like a child I rushed to strip the mussels of each rope to see if the next one to appear would bear a bigger better crop. In no time at all we had filled 22 bins and were heading back to the jetty with an estimated 900-1000kg of mussels.
Loaded into the vehicles the mussels were taken back to the EU approved processing plant at Gordon Lines to be cleaned and prepared for export. Cooking takes place immediately, followed by dipping in a cooling tank to firm the meat and improve the product's quality. The mussels are then shelled and the meat frozen in blocks and later glazed. Frozen blocks of mussel and crab meat are currently sent to Chile for canning to return to the islands for this coming summer season.
Extensive and regular shellfish testing is undertaken to EU standards, the water quality parameters are taken during each visit to the growing site and a bacterium testing is done at KEMH. Water samples for phytoplankton analysis are sent fortnightly to Chile, shellfish samples for toxic algae testing are sent to Santiago for analysis and heavy metals and other contaminants are also sampled - a veterinary officer monitors all results to declare shellfish are fit for sale.
They are delicious. After my morning out in the sea air I took some of the mussels home and cooked a rich tasting (low fat) chowder with lots of spicy curry flavour, and, served with crusty bread, it was the perfect finish to a thoroughly fascinating day.
By Sharon Marsh ? Penguin News ? Stanley.
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