Exploiting the Marmara Sea’s potential

Nora Su Ürünleri specialises in harvesting and processing mussels for consumption in Türkiye and for export. The company is among those helping fulfil government ambitions to increase domestic production of mussels and other bivalves.

Nora Su Ürünleri is a Turkish mussel producing and processing company that owns three farm sites. It operates on the Turkish and foreign markets selling live mussels on the former, while exporting processed products to Europe and the Middle East. ese include canned, cooked, or frozen mussels in their shells or as mussel meat. e company is part of a group, of which other parts deal with the import and export of industry-related electronics and with catering services. However, the mussel farms are what Nora is best known for and what accounts for most of the company’s turnover. Today their farms have an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes while production is 1,000 tonnes a year.

Massive expansion in mussel production envisaged

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, Türkiye produced almost 5.5 thousand tonnes of mussels in 2022. e goal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is to increase this number to 50 thousand tonnes in 2-3 years. For a new industry, just 3 to 5 years old, that employs around 10,000 people, this seems like an ambitious goal. However, as the trends show, one that might be possible due to the country’s legislative and marine environment.

Nora’s various farms are located is Balıkesir, a province in Türkiye. All three sites have access to left, Erdil Uzunoğlu, Nora Aquaculture; Ayhan Aydınol, Balikesir Provincial Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and his son, Mert Aydinol; Hayrettin Savur, Mahmut Erturan, Nevsat Ekmen, Nora Aquaculture; Ahmet Gökhan Coşkun, Merve Erdoğan, Metin Şit, Balikesir Provincial Directorate di erent regions of the Marmara Sea, which is located between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. Being a kind of “middle-ground” creates the perfect environment for increased biodiversity of sh and other marine species due to the di erent currents and water salinities. is area has the added bene t of an average temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius which is optimal for mussel farming. is increases the mussels’ chance to survive, even during warmer periods.

Moreover, Nora tries to engage many local residents and businesses in its activities to embed itself in the local community. e company owns two harvesting/ seeding boats, each of which is operated by a team of 5-6 people. e company also employs several aquaculture engineers who plan the harvesting and spat xing operations as well as monitor the weather and other factors that may impact the production. Most of them are from the area. Moreover, Nora co-operates with numerous local businesses from where the necessary accessory equipment like ropes or net bags are sourced.

Three ministries responsible for farm approvals

e government plays a big role in the process of production. In particular, three ministries, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of e quality and sustainability of new mussel harvesting sites are monitored from the earliest stages. Before the spat collection can begin, the water and the surrounding land must be carefully examined by government ocials and independent experts to determine the suitability of the area. Only then, can the farming process begin. e experts will consider criteria such as the impact of the farm on marine trafc, marine biology, the existence of archaeological sites on the seabed, and sources on land that have the potential to pollute the farms. ey also make sure that the farms would not negatively a ect tourism or recreational sheries in the area. e minimum distance from the shore that the farms must respect is 200 meters. Moreover, throughout the production process, o cials take weekly samples to investigate the marine microbiology and the presence of bacteria such as E. coli. Every six months the presence of heavy metals in the water is checked. Should the results reveal levels that are outside ocial tolerance limits, the farm can be shut down immediately.

Tourism, and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are involved in planning and permissions for the industry. e Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has support programmes for industries whose development it wants to promote. In addition, they monitor hygiene levels and the quality of the products. Nora is legally obliged to regularly collect samples to control the microbiological quality, as well as to analyse them for the presence of various bacteria and viruses. Türkiye has implemented EU food safety and other criteria into its own legislation to facilitate its exports to the EU.

All the supervision is done in accordance with European standards to ensure that the products are safe for domestic consumption and export. Additionally, the government classi es the mussels from A to C, depending on water and mussel quality, to ensure that the mussels pose no danger to consumers. Class A mussels can be directly sold on the domestic market live or processed. Class B mussels need to be puri ed in a specialised depuration facility, while Class C must be cooked before consumption.

New Zealand mussel farming technology provided inspiration

To harvest the best quality of produce, the mussel farms utilise techniques and systems encountered by Hayrettin Savur, Nora’s co-owner, on a eld visit to New Zealand. ere, farms use long lines extending for around 100150 meters along the surface of the water and connected to buoys keeping them a oat. From each of the lines, every 4-5 meters, a 6 to 12-meter-long rope is suspended. e yield depends on the total length of the suspended ropes; 6-8 kilograms of mussels can be harvested from each meter and a total of 400-500 meters of ropes are suspended from each line.

Farming starts with the collection of spat (an immature adult stage with a shell length of 0.9 mm to 1.5 mm) on ropes suspended in the water. e spat is oating in the water and attach naturally to the ropes. is process takes place twice a year: in May and in November. As the mussels grow they are thinned out to reduce the density on the rope. Mussels are removed from the rope, sorted, and placed in a tubular net or sock around a new production rope. e sock keeps the mussels in place as they attach to the new production rope. e next mussel growth period is 12 months or more, while being thinned out and retubed every 6-8 months.

ey are then harvested and processed for domestic and international consumption.

Warming water threatens the industry

Despite modern equipment and e ective production techniques, the development of the Turkish mussel farming industry is threatened by global warming. e mussels’ maximum temperature tolerance is 25-27°C, while the ideal temperature for them is 17-18°C. If the water reaches 29°C, the mussels will die. roughout the mussels’ gestation period, the water’s temperature will vary by 5-6°C. Mussels can survive a single summer at 25°C, but beyond that, it would impact their development or even kill them. Since the whole process, from spat collection to harvest, lasts almost 2 years, its timing must be arranged carefully. For example, the spat is less vulnerable to high temperatures than adult mussels, so this will be taken into consideration when planning the production. However, continuing rise of temperatures may retard or even stall the growth of industry. Apart from threatening the mussels directly, the increase in water temperature also leads to another challenge—higher activity of tube worms. Tube worms attach to the mussel shells and while not harmful to the mussels are unsightly, and infested mussels cannot be sold. e worms proliferate more quickly and become more aggressive in warmer environments. Unfortunately, we can do nothing about them on a commercial scale, says Mr Savur, just pray. Pray that the warmer temperature does not lead to a spread of this pest. Once the mussels reach market size, usually between April and August, they are harvested, cleaned, graded, and packaged in nets.

The future holds more than just mussel farming

Currently, Nora focuses on the production of Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). But like most of the other farms in the area, it is not producing at full capacity yet. Once it achieves this the company plans to expand its production to include oysters, clams, and sea cucumbers, which Mr Savur hopes to export to countries in East Asia.

Nora is also expanding its processing operations. Currently, it owns one depuration centre in Izmir and a separate processing plant, but a new facility in Erdek, Balıkesir is currently being built that will combine both the depuration and processing operations. It will also be suitable for handling other

Nora Aquaculture

FSM Mah. Poligon Cad. Buyaka 2 Sit Kule. 3-8C/31

Ûmraniye, Istanbul, Türkiye

Tel.: +90 216 5948018 https://www.norasuurunleri. com/en info@norasuurunleri.com

Co-owners: Hayrettin Savur, Nevsat Ekmen bivalves like the clam species, Ruditapes decussatus, Ruditapes philippinarum, Venus verrucosa, and Donax trunculus. e facility will o er its services to other producers, becoming a completely new business venture. Mr Savur expects to employ around 70 sta at the new facility and thereby contribute to the economic and social development of the local area. Nora Aquaculture can rightly claim to be among the drivers of a new wave in the Turkish aquaculture industry.

Zuzanna Slowik, Euro sh, info@euro sh.dk

Activity: Production of Mediterranean mussels

Volumes: 1,000 tonnes/year

Capacity: 3,000 tonnes/year

Products: Live, canned, cooked, frozen

Markets: Türkiye, EU (for canned, cooked, frozen), Middle East

Projects: New depuration and processing facility in Erdek, Balikesir

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