Masimanyane Mussel Rehabilitation Project

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The Masimanyane Mussel Rehabilitation Project in Coffee Bay celebrated their first official harvest of mussels on Saturday 19th April 2008.

A few years ago there were no mussels on these rocks where participants in the project can be seen harvesting:

The event was attended by tribal leaders, representatives from Environmental Affairs & Tourism (DEAT), Marine & Coastal Management (MCM) & Walter Sisulu University (WSU).

Approximately 60 "harvesters" who had contributed to the project were involved in the actual harvesting of mussels. The harvesters used screwdriver-like implements with thin (1.5 cm) blades, and each harvester collected one 5 liter container's worth of mussels. To provide sustainability and encourage natural re-propagation, no more than 60% of the rehabilitated rocks will ever be harvested at one time.

It is interesting to note that the subsistence limit currently enforced is 30 mussels per day, and the founder of the Mussel Rehabilitation Project, Dr. Gugu Calvo-Ugarteburu,
is also passionately involved with attempting to reform legislation that is prejudicial to impoverished subsistence-level gatherers reliant on their own natural resources.