Mussel beds are common along the Cumbrian coast, where they form on suitable hard substrate. In the Inner Solway these inter tidal beds are large enough to support a commercial fishery. However, the beds are unstable and very greatly from year to year. For 12 years Cumbria Sea Fisheries Committee commissioned yearly surveys of these beds to estimate their size and the amount of size mussel available to a fishery. This information was then used to inform management decisions.
