Mussels -east coast!

Poppydee

While walking on the beach today I noticed lots of mussels attached to the rocks... as kids we used to pick, cook & eat all sorts of shellfish, mussels clams and winkles. havent seen anyone doing this recently - anyone know if its safe to collect these mussels for cooking.

kylith

I'd say it depends on where you are. Somewhere well away from any urban centres might be grand, but I wouldn't go picking them on Dollymount in Dublin. Maybe the fisheries board would be able to tell you where's safe to pick from.

When I was a child we used to go cockel picking in Woodstown, Co. Waterford. There's nothing like food fresh from the sea.

This summer I'm planning to go looking for razorshells in Kerry when we're on holiday, and I'll roast them in the embers of our traditional bonfire.

flan59

As far as I know you should only collect shellfish from areas where the Dept of Fisheries do shellfish and water sampling like in Woodstown, and the results say it is safe to eat shellfish from that area. Today, I think, all shellfish you see for sale are harvested from under water and are never exposed at any part of the tide. Collecting cockles and razors in Woodstown are probably safe to eat. Normally shellfish growing on the rocks is a sign of a clean water area.

Kewreeuss

MMmm, I'd google that about the clean water. I don't think shellfish are too fussy where they live. They filter everything which is why we get sick if we eat ones that have been sucking up yuck!!:eek:

BaZmO*

Afaik even commercially cultivated mussels are kept in filtration tanks after they're harvested so they can purge the nasty.

Personally I wouldn't eat shellfish that I'd caught myself unless I was 100% sure they were safe to eat.