Around the west of Scotland the clean shallow waters close to the shore of sheltered sea lochs are ideal locations for modern shellfish farms. Mussels are grown on well spaced ropes hung from large rectangular rafts anchored near the shore. Oysters develop better in mesh bags, tied to trestle tables which are set on the seabed close to the low water mark. Scallops are set in lantern nets to grow, suspended from long lines tied to frames in deeper waters.
These mussel ropes, exposed at low tide, are visible as a series of parallel dark lines just under the surface of the water at Loch Creran in Argyll. The distribution of shellfish farms is noted from studies of aerial photographs. Where noted as 'Mussel Beds' on current OS maps they are likely to be natural rather than commercial.
HES DP017766
