The rias

The Autonomous Community of Galicia has approximately 1200 km of coastline being rías a suitable ecosystems for growing mussel.

FAO (United Nations for Food and Agriculture) considers Rías Galegas as one of the most important repositories of phytoplankton in the world. Special conditions, the warm temperatures of the water and the high primary production, make them an excellent place to development of the seafood.

Mussel from Galicia get on our shores marketable size (70-95 mm) in about 17 months, compared to what happens in other producing countries, where the growing season is much dilated (in the rest of Europe, the mussel requires 2-6 times as long to get to this size).

Mussel from Galicia comes from the rafts moored in farming polygons located within the rías of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros-Noia and Ares-Betanzos.

The following table shows some characteristics of the five rías where the polygons Galician Mussel production:

 

FEATURES OF THE RIAS WHERE WILL THE MUSSEL CULTURE IN GALICIA
RIA VIGO PONTEVEDRA AROUSA MUROS – NOIA AREAS – BETANZOS
Length (Kms.) 33 23 26 12 19
Surface (Kms.) 175 145 230 120 72
Volume (m3) 3.100 3.240 4.300 2.700 750
Maximum depth
(m.)
42 40 65 46A 40
River Oitavén
Lagares
Lérez Ulla
Umia
Tambre Eume
Mandeo
DISTRIBUTION OF POLYGONS AND MUSSEL RAFTS BY RIA
RIA POLYGONS OF MUSSEL PERCENTAGE OF BATEAS Nº OF BATEAS
ARES-BETANZOS 2 3,10% 105
MUROS-NOIA 4 3,60% 122
AROUSA 18 68,46% 2.319
BAIONA 1 0,44% 15
PONTEVEDRA 7 10,13% 343
VIGO 12 14,26% 483
TOTAL 44 100,00% 3.387