The kings of the table
The Rías Baixas produce a wide variety of quality shellfish
The variety of seafood in Rías Baixas is very wide and its quality is excellent. The mussels from As Rías Baixas have a Denomination of Origin, which protects the bivalve molluscs cultivated in the traditional and natural way in the Galician estuaries. Up to 3,000 bateas (cultivation platforms) are spread throughout the estuaries, two thirds of them in the Arousa estuary, the main production centre.
The clam and the oyster are other great classics in the bivalve section. The former can be found in different varieties (fine, golden, blonde, Japanese and slimy) in many places in As Rías Baixas, although those from O Carril (Vilagarcía) are especially famous. Oysters are cultivated especially at the bottom of the Vigo estuary and their paradise is Arcade (Soutomaior). Scallops, scallops, razor clams, scallops and cockles are also highly prized molluscs that can be found in restaurants in the province.
Barnacles, shrimps, crayfish, spider crabs, lobsters, lobsters, crabs, crabs, crab and crabs form part of the select list of seafood from the Rías Baixas. Shellfish gatherers extract molluscs and crustaceans in different ways: on foot on the shores at low tide and on the rocks; afloat, from boats; diving and, in the case of mussels, by raising them in rafts.
Mussels from our estuaries, from the sea to the plate
Did you know that mussel rafts are a marine cultivation system imported from Japan? We visited a mussel farm with Pablo Mariño, director of Bluscus Turismo Mariñeiro, in the Vigo estuary, a unique environment in which these tasty bivalves are cultivated. If you visit #RíasBaixas don't miss one of the visits he suggests, you will learn a lot about the sea and you will also be able to taste these excellent products.
All of them, as well as the previous ones, are products of great quality to which tribute is paid in dozens of festivals, many of them of Tourist Interest. The Festa do Marisco de O Grove, of national renown, is the most famous exponent, along with other distinguished festivals such as that of the lobster of A Guarda, the scallop of Cambados, the mussel and cockle of Vilanova de Arousa or the clam of O Carril. Alongside these, there is a carousel of festivals along the coast with other seafood products.
Sea urchins are also very present in As Rías Baixas. Its intense sea flavour makes it an exquisite snack that is eaten in the province and is also sent to many other markets.
