Galicia is responding to the declining availability of wild mussel seed through MytSeed, a University of Vigo project developing hatchery-produced seed. By combining selective breeding, environmental analysis and oceanographic modelling, the initiative aims to stabilise production, reduce uncertainty and make mussel farming more resilient to climate change.

The declining availability of wild mussel seed is becoming a critical issue for Galician mussel farming. The MytSeed project, led by the Marine Research Centre at the University of Vigo, is developing hatchery production methods through an approach that integrates genetic improvement, environmental analysis and oceanographic modelling. The aim is to give the industry an additional tool to stabilise production, reduce uncertainty and strengthen its resilience to climate change.

Galician mussel farming depends on a delicate balance between the sea, seed, ropes, floating rafts, time and the farmers’ ability to interpret environmental conditions. When one of these elements becomes unstable, the effects are felt throughout the supply chain.

In recent years, the availability of mussel seed, the young mussels used to stock farming ropes, has become less predictable. This is a technical problem, but also an economic one. Without seed, farms cannot plan production, ensure continuity or provide security for a sector that plays a major role in Galicia’s employment, industry and coastal economy.

This is the challenge behind MytSeed, a project led by the Marine Research Centre of the University of Vigo, or CIM-UVigo. Its goal is to develop innovative methods for producing mussel seed in hatcheries. The intention is not to replace traditional natural collection, but to support it with more controlled tools that can make mussel farming less vulnerable to environmental fluctuations.

Seed is the weakest link in the supply chain

The availability of mussel seed is the foundation of production. When larvae become scarce or settle less regularly, farmers lose their ability to plan. The issue becomes even more sensitive in a context shaped by climate change, where water temperature, salinity, marine circulation and food availability can all affect mussel survival and growth. As Pesceinrete has previously reported, changing environmental conditions are already reshaping the geography and operating conditions of mussel farming.

MytSeed addresses this vulnerability through an interdisciplinary approach. The project combines genetics, biology, oceanography and physics to understand which traits make mussel seed better suited to farming and which environmental conditions genuinely support its development.

One of its main objectives is to develop selective breeding programmes focused on traits of commercial and productive interest, including survival, growth, flesh colour and byssus strength. The byssus is the bundle of fibres that allows a mussel to attach itself securely to a rope or other surface.

Through heritability studies and large-scale genomic analysis, researchers will seek to identify genetic markers associated with these characteristics. The ultimate goal is to produce selected seed in hatcheries before transferring it to the sea for the grow-out phase.

Selection must withstand the test of the sea

Producing mussel seed under controlled conditions is only part of the challenge. The decisive test will be whether hatchery-produced seed can grow successfully at sea while retaining the desired characteristics.

This step is crucial. A selected line has value for the industry only if its productive traits remain stable under real farming conditions, where currents, temperature, salinity, food availability and interaction with naturally recruited mussels all come into play.

MytSeed therefore does not treat genetics as a shortcut, but as one component of a broader system. The best seed is not simply the one that performs well in a laboratory. It is the one that develops into a stable, productive and commercially valuable mussel at sea.

The project also uses advanced hydrodynamic modelling to simulate the behaviour of mussel rafts and assess how variables such as water flow, temperature, salinity and food availability affect growth and survival. These studies are being conducted under real farming conditions using CIM’s monitored experimental raft.

By assessing genetic and environmental factors together, the researchers aim to determine whether selected traits remain stable and to optimise both seed settlement and final farming performance. This integrated work complements other technological approaches being investigated across aquaculture, including the cryopreservation of mussel biological material.

Greater stability for farmers and processors

For the supply chain, reliable hatchery-produced mussel seed could deliver practical benefits. More uniform seed of consistent quality could simplify farm management, reduce losses, improve production planning and shorten grading times.

For farmers, it would provide a more predictable starting point. For processors, including the canning industry, it could mean more regular supplies. For coastal communities, it could strengthen an activity that continues to generate employment and economic value in areas closely linked to mussel farming.

The project also examines the sustainability of seed collection systems. Understanding the environmental factors that influence attachment, detachment, growth and seed quality could help improve the efficiency of the traditional collector ropes used on Galician mussel rafts.

This also has environmental significance. A more reliable hatchery supply could reduce dependence on more disruptive collection methods, such as scraping mussel seed from rocky surfaces in intertidal areas, a practice that can alter local ecosystems.

The goal is not to abandon natural recruitment, but to achieve a more sustainable balance between aquaculture production and marine ecosystem protection. Greater control over seed production could therefore improve both operational efficiency and environmental performance.

Research designed to reach the industry

MytSeed is funded through the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities’ 2024 Knowledge Generation Projects programme. It has a budget of €215,655 and will run until 31 August 2028.

The project involves several CIM-UVigo research groups. It is coordinated by Moncho Gesteira of Ephyslab and Ángel Pérez Diz of the XB2 group as principal investigators, with the participation of Paloma Morán and Juan Pasantes, both from XB2. The composition of the team reflects the project’s multidisciplinary nature.

The most significant long-term prospect is technology transfer. The project’s scientific and operational results are expected to lay the foundations for a spin-off, currently being established, dedicated to producing mussel seed in hatcheries.

If the research delivers the expected results, Galicia will gain another tool to protect one of its most important aquaculture industries. It would not replace traditional farming knowledge, but strengthen it through better information, greater control and a stronger capacity to adapt. In a changing sea, the seed of the future will also need to be produced with greater precision.