Mussel (b)
Beautiful defence: a pearl of wisdom
Ceramic Mussels
Ceramic Mussels
Ceramic Mussels
When you pull her body apart
you are taking from her, everything.
Even her pearl.
But her wisdom stays
clambers to pull her body back
rebuild and form a new jewel
for her admiration only
in the fresh clear water of the Humber.
Description of the work:
I became fascinated with freshwater mussels which can, but rarely, form pearls. ‘These mussels lie on the beds of clean, fast-flowing rivers, where they can be buried partly or wholly in coarse sand or fine gravel. They feed by drawing in river water and ingesting fine particles of organic matter.’ (NatureScot, 2025). (NatureScot are working to conserve freshwater mussels as they are on the brink of extinction in Scotland). These mussels are black or dark brown in colour. I imagine the ceramic mussels in our brown waters which would have once been clear when shellfish such as oysters were abundant in our waters before ‘[…] the great beds were smashed by fish trawlers and oyster dredgers […]’ which in turn shut down the water’s filters ‘[…] as the crust of life was broken, releasing the mud that lay beneath. Even the Humber Estuary – a mud bowl whose waters are now as murky as a hedge fund’s tax returns – was once lined with oyster reefs’ (Monbiot, G., 2014: 238-239). I also became intrigued by pearl making as a defence and protection; in the poem I reimagine the mussel’s natural defence and protection mechanism as something of beauty and power rather than just necessity. This beautiful defence is kept for the mussel herself and admired in the reimagined clear fresh waters of the Humber before the trawlers and dredgers arrived to fulfil shellfish consumption.
References:
NatureScot (2025) Freshwater Pearl Mussel. Available at: Freshwater pearl mussel | NatureScot [Accessed: 13/05/2025]
Monbiot, George. (2014) Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding. Penguin.
Artist: Dr. Zivarna Murphy
Fish Profile:
Blue Mussel - Mytilus edulis
Conservation status
The MCS discuss variability in the sustainability of Mussels. Farmed Mussels are their recommended Best Choice and a low-impact method of producing shellfish. Shellfish can filter all the food they need out of the surrounding water as it flows past, and do not require any additional foods.
Two fishing areas are mentioned as In Need of Improvement - Poole Harbour and around the island of Ireland coastline.
Here, Blue Mussels are harvested using dredges, which may cause habitat impacts. Although some measures are in place to protect vulnerable habitats and to reduce bycatch.
Mussels can be both marine or freshwater.
Out of 511 species assessed globally, 44% of freshwater mussels listed on the IUCN Red List are classified at some level of threatened.