Unleashing the ocean’s mussel power
Just off the beach at Mount Martha, a series of small yellow buoys bob about in the gentle swell, marking the 90ha aquaculture site where some of the best and biggest mussels in Australia are grown. This is Yumbah Sea Farms, Australia’s largest aquaculture producer, which took over from Mount Martha Mussels in 2020 and operates its two boats from Mornington Pier.
“You can find Sabrina and Southern Venture moored at the pier when they are not on the water working with their six crew,” says operations manager Paul Van Der Werf. The mussels are harvested three times a week and are available at the Yumbah processing facility just hours after being pulled from the water, nestled among the roasters and brewers in the backblocks of Mornington.
Paul and his team cultivate 350 tonnes of mussels in the clear, cool waters off Mount Martha between the beach and the shipping channel. The water here is quite shallow, ranging from 12-18m. The mussels grow on furry ‘Christmas tree’ ropes that are festooned between the buoys and can hang down to 8m, where the mussels filter-feed on natural nutrients in the water. “Mussels are a natural food,” Paul says. “They are not artificially fed and they are not given any treatments.”
The mussels start off as tiny spat, hatched in high-tech plants on the Bellarine Peninsula and Phillip Island. The spat are encased in a natural mesh around the rope and suspended in the seawater. Over the course of 18 months, the spat feed and grow, becoming fat and plump. Paul opens up two big mussels with a quick twist of a knife. They fill the shell with a little of the seawater in which they grew. One is a pleasing pinkish-apricot hue, while the other is paler in colour. “The males are pale, the female mussels pink,” he says.
Mussels harvested from Port Phillip are considered some of the best in the world. They are so popular that export demand is increasing, with sales to countries across South-East Asia set to expand. This will see Yumbah’s production in Port Phillip increase to about 1500 tonnes annually.
Back on shore, Yumbah mussels still appear on local menus as Mount Martha Mussels. At the historical Royal Hotel, perched on the cliffs above the Mornington shoreline, they are served in the classic French style, Moules Marinière. Cooked in a sauce of wine, cream, garlic, and fragrant herbs, it is served with fresh ciabatta to soak up the salty sauce. Closer to the Yumbah fleet is The Rocks. This beautiful waterfront restaurant, situated above the Mornington Yacht Club at Mornington Pier, has had a long and successful relationship with local mussels. They feature on the menu, where they are served alongside a cornucopia of fresh crustaceans and white-fleshed fish. Another dish on the menu is a whole kilo of local Yumbah mussels cooked with tomato and a little serrano chilli. Rich and aromatic with a slightly salty tang, the dish is perfect with crusty bread and a glass of pinot gris.
Other restaurants that cook with Yumbah mussels include Bistro One and Tio Tapas in Mornington and Mt. Terrace in Mount Eliza.
Fresh local mussels are easy to cook. They can be taken straight from the bag and, because Yumbah removes most of the beard, can be cooked immediately. You can pop them straight on the barbecue; when they open, remove them with tongs and serve them with a tangy aioli or even a romesco sauce made with cooked red peppers and garlic. A traditional French maritime way of cooking them is to place them flat and pile on handfuls of dried pine needles. Set fire to these, fanning the flames to intensify the heat. When cool enough, eat directly from the shell with a small fork and wash down with a flinty sauvignon blanc. Mussels can also be used in seafood stews, paella, or steamed, removed from the shell, chilled, marinated in a vinaigrette, and served as a canapé.
Fresh Yumbah mussels are also sold at Lindens Fresh Meats, Bentons Square, selected fishmongers, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Yumbah Sea Farms, 21 Bennetts Rd, Mornington; www.yumbah.com