Visit by Marta Villaverde, Councillor for the Sea, to the Opmega facilities in Boiro.
The Regional Minister for the Sea visits Opmega’s facilities in Boiro and highlights its commitment to sustainability
• Marta Villaverde was briefed on the organisation’s progress in innovation, marketing and international certification of Galician mussels
Boiro, 13 May 2026. The Regional Minister for the Sea, Marta Villaverde, visited the facilities of the Galician Mussel Producers’ Organisation (Opmega) in Boiro this morning to learn about the organisation’s activities, as the leading body in the Galician mussel sector. The Regional Minister was welcomed by the president of Opmega, Ricardo Herbón, and by members of the board of directors, who accompanied her on a tour of the facilities.
Since last April, Opmega has had access to the first scientific study to comprehensively quantify the ecosystem services provided by mussel farming on rafts. The study, carried out by the CSIC’s Institute of Marine Research, places the carbon footprint of Galician mussels well below that of other sources of animal protein, documents the filtration and nutrient retention capacity that mussel rafts provide to estuaries, and assesses the shell as a resource that can be utilised in sectors such as agriculture and construction. The study, presented at Seafood Expo Global Barcelona, provides scientific backing for something the sector has been advocating for years: that mussel farming not only produces food but also generates measurable environmental benefits.
The organisation is also making progress in the certification process under the principles and criteria of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the international benchmark for sustainable fishing and aquaculture. This label would demonstrate to the market and consumers the sustainability of the Galician raft-based farming model, strengthen the product’s competitive position in international markets, and provide crucial support against the entry into Europe of imported mussels that do not meet the same environmental and health standards.
On the commercial front, Opmega has consolidated one of its greatest recent successes with its trays of fresh, ready-to-eat mussels, which the organisation now distributes to supermarkets. Developed in-house to replace the traditional wire mesh, the packaging extends the product’s shelf life, better preserves its organoleptic properties and allows it to be cooked directly in the microwave. The modified atmosphere packaging lines operated by the organisation are responding to growing demand and have opened the door to the mass market for Galician mussels, a strategic channel that is also gaining a foothold in international markets.
Imported mussels
One of the issues of greatest concern to Opmega’s members is competition from imported mussels, which are not subject to the same health and environmental standards and lack clear labelling for consumers. Also of concern are the effects of the latest biotoxin outbreak, which forced the closure of a large part of the estuaries in the final stretch of 2025, and the impact of the succession of winter storms on mussel farm activity.
“Mussel farms do not just produce mussels. They look after the estuaries, support thousands of families and keep alive a relationship with the sea that we have inherited and which we have a responsibility to pass on. We now have science on our side, and that changes the conversation. It is important that the authorities see this on the ground and join us in tackling the challenges ahead,” said Ricardo Herbón.
For her part, the regional minister highlighted the work of Opmega and the sector as an example of a commitment to sustainability and emphasised the role of Galician mussel farming as a European leader in production and an environmental benchmark. Promoting the product in the markets and supporting the sea-to-industry supply chain remain, according to Villaverde, strategic priorities to ensure the profitability and future of the activity in the Galician estuaries.