Will a green-lipped mussel production initiative benefit the pet food industry in New Zealand?

A government-backed initiative in New Zealand shows promising early results in boosting Greenshell (green-lipped) mussel production.

While the project’s primary goal is not to focus on commercial applications in pet health supplements or food products, the organization that leads the project (the Marine Farming Association) acknowledges potential benefits for the pet industry.

“The project aims to address the industry-wide problem of low retention of Greenshell mussel spat (juveniles) on mussel farms, rather than exploring specific commercial applications for the mussels, such as pet health supplements and food products,” Steve Penno, Director Investment Programmes at Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), tells GlobalPETS.

Greenshell mussels are the country’s most valuable aquaculture species, generating approximately NZ$336 million ($207.8M/€187.3M) annually in export revenue.

Green-lipped mussel extract is recognized for its effectiveness in supporting joint health in dogs, along with other benefits. Recently, Mars Petcare exported this ingredient to Australia for a new line of functional pet food.

Addressing industry shortages

The project launched earlier in the year and aims to tackle the challenge of the low survival rate of wild-caught spat (less than 5%) after being transferred to mussel farms. These losses are estimated to cost millions in production each year.

Penno states that the spat project, which is still in its early stages, has already identified “unique approaches” to enhance Greenshell production. “The initial focus has been on reviewing existing knowledge of nutrition and feed delivery for juvenile shellfish, and laboratory-scale research is now well underway,” he adds.

What’s the project about?

New Zealand’s coalition government has co-invested NZ$410,000 ($253,600/€226,600) in this project over 3 years, with additional support from MPI, Aquaculture New Zealand, the University of Auckland and several Greenshell mussel farming companies.

This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to increase Greenshell mussel earnings to NZ$1 billion ($618.5M/€557.5M) annually and to triple aquaculture sales revenue to NZ$3 billion ($1.8B/€1.6B) by 2035.