Mussel Farmers in the Ebro Delta Face the Dilemma of Producing Less and Revaluing Local Sales

Jordi Marsal / La Ràpita — Producing fewer mussels while increasing the value of local market sales in order to maintain the sector’s profitability. This is the major dilemma faced by mussel farmers in the Ebro Delta in recent years. Producers began this week the busiest phase of this year’s harvest, which they hope to extend well into July, provided sea water temperatures allow it. They expect to reach 3 million kilos, half a million less than the previous year. This lower figure is due to the additional costs of having to reseed and the losses caused by windstorms in El Fangar. It is also linked to increasingly shorter harvesting seasons caused by climate change.

The campaign started several weeks ago in Alfacs Bay, where changes in water circulation and rising sea temperatures in recent years have forced mussel farmers to prioritise removing the product from the water early enough. “Right now, the sea water is around 18 degrees. But I think in a short time we’ll be at 22–23 degrees and then, once we reach 26, problems begin. Above 28 degrees, if it lasts several consecutive days, we even experience mortality,” explains Gerardo Bonet, manager of the Federation of Mollusc Producers of the Ebro Delta (Fepromodel).

The mollusc sector has been one of the first to directly experience the effects of climate change on production conditions and has been working for years on adaptation measures. Producers have had to adapt to a significant shortening of the harvesting seasons, which years ago lasted well into August. In recent years, however, harvesting often ends abruptly during July due to rising sea temperatures and lack of oxygen in the bays, which kills the mussels.

This year, moreover, two episodes linked to extreme weather conditions have further reduced the harvest. On the one hand, the already mentioned high sea temperatures during August killed the entire crop prepared for this season, forcing producers to buy one and a half million kilos from Greece and Italy, with the additional costs that this entails. Faced with this scenario, Bonet explains that many mussel farmers have decided not to take risks and to “seed less”.

On the other hand, the episode of strong winds in mid-February uprooted around 10,000 poles in Fangar Bay and completely destroyed eight mussel platforms, causing losses estimated at 2.5 million euros for the sector. The head of Fepromodel estimates that this storm may have reduced this year’s production by between 100,000 and 200,000 kilos.

Peak Quality Period

So far this year, quality remains good and producers are working flat out to supply the markets during June, considered the optimal quality period for Delta mussels. However, the trend indicated by these phenomena is clear, and producers are already acting accordingly. This season, moreover, ropes containing mussel seed have not managed to double or triple their weight. “The only thing we can do is what we’re doing now: reduce production. We can’t do anything else,” Bonet states.

As a counterbalance to shorter campaigns and lower production, the sector’s strategy also involves increasing the product’s market value. This year, producer prices remain between €2.50 and €2.70 per kilo, while retail prices — including VAT, transport, purification and handling costs — rise to between €6 and €8 per kilo.

“We’re trying to maintain the same prices as last year, which were historically the highest. That’s the only thing we can do because if we lower prices, honestly, we can’t cover all our expenses,” Bonet pointed out.

The Advantages of a Live Product

For now, consumer response remains positive, he says. Producers from the Ebro Delta mainly sell their mussels in Catalonia and along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. This year, high production levels in Mediterranean countries such as Italy are encouraging imports at considerably lower prices. “We are in an open market and within the European Union. Last year Italian mussels were extremely expensive and ours were cheaper. This year it’s the opposite. But many consumers only want ours,” he added.

Unlike imported mussels, because they are sold alive, Delta mussels have favourable competitive advantages, as they can be preserved much better in local fishmongers, where they can arrive only hours after being harvested from the bays, gaining one or two days compared to products from other origins.

“For example, mussels used to be produced in the Port of Barcelona and, historically, they were at their best around Saint John’s Day. That is still the day when the most mussels are sold here in the Delta because it’s when people in Barcelona buy the most. It’s a tradition that goes back many years and, in some way, it is still maintained. The difference is becoming smaller, but it is still the peak season and mussels need to be as close to the market as possible because they are a live product. They must be transported, sold and reach consumers’ homes alive,” Bonet concluded.