Based in Westport, County Mayo, Blackshell Farm is Ireland’s leading producer of organic, rope grown mussels. We take advantage of Clew Bay’s Grade A water conditions to produce up to 1,000 tonnes of organic mussels throughout the year. Blackshell Farm produces Mytilus Edulis mussels (a naturally occurring hybrid), which are seeded and harvested over a period of 24 - 36 months. Over  3 generations of mussels are growing at any one time across our 46-hectare site in North Clew Bay.

We are hugely reliant on nature when it comes to producing our organic mussels. Luckily, the sheltered waters of Clew Bay are the perfect place to grow healthy rope grown mussels for both live export and processing. Blackshell Farm takes weekly water samples at the closest island to its main production site, Inislaughil. These samples have led to the classification of the Clew Bay growing waters as the highest Grade “A” by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. This allows our mussels to be sold for human consumption without the need for purification.

Clew Bay North has one of the best biotoxin profiles in Ireland. However, to ensure maximum safety levels our mussels are also tested for biotoxins on a weekly basis in Irish Marine Institute Labs based in Galway. Closures, when they happen, are of short duration. A full record of the biotoxin profile for Inislaughil (MO-CN-IL) can be examined on Marine Institute website.

Some of our mussels are sent to our customers, Connemara Seafoods, Blackshell Farm’s onshore processing partner of over 30 years. We deliver our products by sea, eliminating any need for heavy goods vehicles on narrow local roads.

Blackshell Farm has been certified by the Organic Trust since 2010. We are focused on growing high quality and sustainable rope-grown mussels.