the bouchot mussel from the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, a popular but endangered species

The bouchot mussel from the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) has been the only protected designation of origin (AOP) from the sea since 2011. It grows exclusively on the Brittany side, on wooden stakes that it leaves the summer to fill the market stalls. His characteristics ? A bluish black shell, and a generous, orange-yellow flesh. Before delighting the palates, the mollusk is scrutinized and sorted by the expert hands of the bay’s mussel farmers. To claim PDO, the shell must reach 4 cm and be well filled. “What makes a mussel PDO, first of all, is its flesh content, (…) of around 25% minimum”explains Nicolas Lebeau, president of the AOP Moules de bouchot committee in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel.

The 2022 season is good, but late. The first certified bins came out three weeks late due to the drought. The mussels usually take 14 months to develop, but the high temperatures have slowed their growth. “We need the rain, we need the sun, so that there is photosynthesis that is created”, explains a fisherman. Global warming could also be responsible for the proliferation of predators, such as spider crabs. In kitchens, mussels still inspire chefs. Romain Roullier, chef at Az Iniz Saint-Malo, likes to accompany it with currants, apples or with a sorbet.