Show Us Your Mussels – View Initial Findings

I looked along the length of the beach in square 17, focusing on rocks and some old sea wall and posts. I spent about one and a half hours on the rocks by Snab point . There were plenty of inhabited shells but NOT mussels. There were scattered unhinged mussel shells along the beach

On the Rocks to the left of the square I found nine live single mussels.

I also saw a single live mussel on a rope at the tideline (hard to see if it was definitely a mussel as it was covered in barnacles but think so).

On the sandy part of the beach I found several unhinged dead blue mussel shells across the square (roughly 60 in total) ranging from size 10mm close to the low tideline to various sizes up to 40 mm at the strand line. I saw no hinged dead blue mussel shells.

There were no live mussels on the rocks to the right of the square and the water had a lot of frothy scum on it.

A lot of individuals, clusters of young ones and spat of various sizes in nearby rocks.

No dead shells or shell fragments, no live mussels. difficult access, very rocky.

small clusters and some individuals

4 clusters plus individuals

3 clusters plus individuals

1 small cluster plus some individuals

7 individuals

1 small cluster plus 5 individuals

6 small clusters

50 individuals in small/medium clusters

almost a bed of mussels - on plinth between pillars. 1m x 1m About 7 individuals

small clusters

5 small clusters

clusters up to 20cm

scattered small clusters of 3 to 5 individuals

7 scattered small clusters and some individuals

About 50 individuals most in clusters, some coalescing into ribbons

5 clusters up to 20cm long on plinth between pillars

Many individuals and some mini clusters on plinth between pillars

About 40 individuals on plinth between pillars. Some mini clusters

About 20 individuals on plinth between pillars

cluster of 9 big and some small mussels. Plus several individuals

About 10 individuals scattered on plinth between pillars

2 live individuals

1 live individual

1 live individual

2 individual live mussels

2 live attached individuals

Large area (30m x 30m) on sand carpeted with unhinged, generally large, shells

Scattered large live attached individuals on horizontal concrete surface between pillars. Areas between pillars in this area all have similar collections of individuals.

7 live attached individuals on concrete pillar

20cm long cluster in crack in concrete pillar

6 live attached individuals

linear cluster in crack in concrete pillar

cluster in crack in concrete

12cm long cluster in crack in concrete pillar

2 clusters on concrete pillar

5 live attached individuals on concrete pillar

80 cm long cluster in crack in concrete

small cluster plus 5 live individuals on concrete pillar

20cm long cluster in crack in concrete

cluster in crack in concrete on pillar on Cramond Is causeway

small cluster in crack in concrete pillar on Cramond Is causeway

single live attached individual on concrete pillar

5 live attached individuals plus 10cm long cluster on concrete pillar of Cramond Is causeway

3 clusters on concrete pillars on Cramond Is causeway. Approx 20-30cm long linear clusters

6 live individuals on concrete pillars of Cramond Island causeway. Plus a number of dead, unhinged mussels.

2 small live mussels found in square, 20cm apart. One was 1.5cm long, the other approximately 3cm (inaccessible for direct measurement). Very few empty shells, and some shell fragments. Area of suitable substrata for mussels (horizontal, vertical and fissured bedrock, boulders, cobbles, many large and small rockpools, clean sand, abundant fucoid seaweeds) in this square is very large - 100s of square metres. Dominant animal cover was barnacles with some limpets.

Lot of sand ‘dumped’ in this area during winter storms.
Ps. Apologies for late submission of this - temporarily indisposed, OK now.

Clusters and single mussels well tucked in to rocky outcrops at Aberlady Point

Only two living mussels found. Many empty single shells.

Scattered individuals and clusters of blue mussels on East side of rocky outcrop North of Green Craig.

We found 215 unhinged shells.

Only found a few single live mussels - these and a few others - will upload three words. Lots of unhinged single side everywhere along the Longniddry bents coastline.
Took lots of photos but couldn't seem to upload them - buffered.

There were others close to the main cluster. They all seemed alive and healthy and around 5cm long.

These were all about 2cm long, apart from one which was about 2.5cm

South facing rock, only juveniles >5 mm

Clusters of mussels on an artificial surface (concrete covering of sewage pipe).Over a linear stretch of 3.36m, 63 mature mussels were counted measuring up to 7cm. Small juveniles across the area (1mm).

Single rock, covered with clusters of mature(6cm) and juvenile mussels(5mm).

A number of patches with small numbers of individuals on rocks tucked away in crevices. Single intact, mixed size mussel shells found occasionally on the beach. Monitoring those mussels in photo with white cockle shell for scale.

Most of the shore in square 24 was inaccessible. The accessible area were at the eastern and western edges of the square. No live mussels or hinged shells were found, but there were thousands of single dead mussel shells. Hard surfaces in the square were well covered by green and brown seaweeds, limpets, periwinkles and barnacles.

Seabed changed from Western section of Square 13 from sandy/silt to sand at Eastern End of the square lots of shells, Razors, Periwinkles, Cockles and Queen Scallops and old Oyster Shells. Certainly more dead mussel shells as you go further East but still very sparse. Rocky Outcrops covered in Bladder Wrack and kelp but no mussels to be found underneath, lots of old Barnacles and lots of Cockles, more the further East you go.

Happy to check this Square when winter storms have moved kelp and wrack but disappointing to not find one!

There was a second group of clusters for about 20 m from rang, ropes, grant to bravo, fire, foam

Large rock surrounded by sand covered in babies.

Small babies

Babies in an individual rock on all sides and top.

Very few hinged shells apart from this small spot. Lots of individual unhinged shells on the beach itself though.

Multiple smaller clusters and small individuals spread over an area

~10 individual adults (though possibly more - I ran out of time) spread across multiple boulders.

More small beds and clusters spread-out across a wide area on Laackenbae point

Large expanse of clusters/beds of small mussels amongst seaweed and barnacles.

Not one large continuous bed but multiple clusters and a few beds of very small mussels across a wide area.

2 adult individuals located in separate cracks and crevices on a large boulder on East Beach rocky shore (just below Seabird Centre)

No evidence of mussels

Only visible at very low tide, and a slippery surface to negotiate. Not ideal for monitoring, but possible with care. Hard to measure shells though, as well embedded between stones.

Approximately 26 adults and millions of babies. Rocky outcrop less than 1 m in length. The adults range in size from 9cm largest to 5cm smallest

Cluster of adults with babies

This rock is over 2m large. There is a line of baby mussel beds around most of it.

Extensive beds of young mussels

There were clusters growing in the end of a metal pipe and all along it inland up to 56.20947N 2.95300W. These were the only large mussels we found at a very low tide. It is unlikely we will be able to monitor these

These are exemples of baby mussels bed all over the rocks in this area.

Abundance of baby mussels on large boulder just below Crusoe Hotel. 2m by 1m area

Mixed colony of adult and baby mussels on a single rock

Additional WhatThreeWords for location: scope.twinkling.tailed
Approximately 50+ adults on rocky outcrop. Greater than 2m expanse of colony.

Juvenile colony on a single rock. Within a 500m wide spread of juvenile mussels

Massive bed of babies of different ages nothing big enough to measure. Bed is on a single rock

Single rock on a bed of sand

You will note from the date this is a retrospective photo from 2023.
I had noticed we had old mussels and babies but nothing in between. I took photos here in the latter part of 2023 until they disappeared in October.
My plan is to monitor this area again as there are new mussels on the rocks again- see further reports.

Live mussels absent. Rocky substrate with many gullies, crevices etc looked like ideal mussel territory.
'Normal' sort of density of limpets and barnacles, some periwinkles.
Luxuriant growth of Acsophyllum seaweed, some mixed fucoids, mainly serratus on lower shore.

3 mussels (small) about 3cm in length attached to harbour wall covered in seaweed

There were old half shells at two other locations on the upper shore at:
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No obvious locations for mussel beds. Nothing found on sea wall (the sea is very far away at this point). Some clusters of small rocks which were checked.

Tyninghame beach which would be square 91 if assigned! Sandy beach and rocky shore comprising bedrock and boulders. Very few single mussel shells on the upper shore