Independent of the role of mussel farming in environmental management of the Baltic, it is beyond doubt that mussel farming can provide essential proteins in a way that is sustainable.
Due to especially the low salinity in most parts of the Baltic except for the north-western parts of the Baltic, mussels farmed in the Baltic are small and thus less appropriate for human consumption. Instead they can be used as a protein rich feed ingredient replacing unsustainable protein sources like imported soybeans or fishmeal.
There is a worldwide demand for alternative and more sustainable fish feed in the aquaculture industry. Mussel meal is an interesting alternative to fishmeal, as the mussels have a high content of protein with an amino acid pattern similar to fishmeal. Blue growth by mussel farming should therefore in most parts of the Baltic be aimed at feed production and in particular at fish feed.
It has been shown that the major part of the costs associated with mussel meal production is related to the costs of producing the mussels even when applying traditional methods for separating shells from meat. There will, however, still be a need to reduce total costs of production of mussel meal in order to make it a realistic alternative to other protein sources.