A man checking on the status of vertical ropes, or 'drops', growing six-month-old mussels, at Loch Fyne oyster farm, Cairndow,

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When produced commercially, mussels are usually cultivated by simply hanging ropes into deep, clean sea water. Mussel larvae naturally find the ropes and attach themselves, taking about two years to grow to a commercially valuable size. The image here shows work with mussels at just such a mussel farm in Loch Fyne, near Inverary, in Argyle, Scotland, UK.

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Size: 3478px × 5345px
Location: Loch Fyne Oyster Farm, Cairndow, Inverary, Argyle, Scotland, UK.
Photo credit: © Nigel Hicks / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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