Aug 5, 2024
#2416 - Perna canaliculus - New Zealand Green-lipped Mussel
AKA the greenshell mussel, kuku, and kutai, Mytilus canaliculatus, canaliculus, durus, latus and tasmanicus.
An endemic New Zealand subtidal mussel, grown in huge quantities for the aquaculture industry. Most of the spat is collected from seaweed that washes up on Ninety Mile Beach on the north coast. This spatfall is highly variable - in some years none arrives at all.
In 2000 two companies that were promoting an extract of green-lipped mussel as a cancer cure were successfully prosecuted and fined. Only click on the green-lipped mussel tag below if you want some amazingly badly translated posts about their supposed antioxident properties.
Puritutu Rock, New Plymouth, New Zealand.