French restaurants turn to imported mussels as production plummets 90% from pollution, bad weather
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Sunday Telegraph] by David Chazan - August 19, 2014
Mussel Growers in western France have called for emergency state aid as they face an "unprecedented" squeeze following a 90 per cent fall in production of the shellfish, which has been blamed on bad weather and pollution.
With not nearly enough local supply to meet demand for the beloved delicacy, French restaurants are now being forced to rely on imports of Irish, Dutch and Italian moules to accompany their frites.
Producers in the Atlantic port of La Rochelle say the decline, which started six months ago, is "catastrophic" for the local economy. They have staged two protests in recent weeks, dumping piles of oyster shells and dead mussels outside the Préfecture to demand action over a crisis they attribute to seawater contamination...
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