A crackdown on illegal pearl fishing is being launched following a spate of recent incidents threatening a vulnerable species. Investigators in the Riverwatch initiative have found three cases of ...

Despite being protected since 1998, Scottish freshwater mussels have been increasingly targeted by thieves who kill the mussel to get at a possible pearl inside. Most don't contain a pearl and the ...

Illegal freshwater pearl mussel fishing has damaged populations of the species in Assynt "for decades", Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has said. Three incidents of poaching have been detected on ...

Freshwater pearl mussels found in Scottish rivers could become extinct because of reckless and illegal fishing, according to a new report commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The shellfish ...

Illegal pearl fishers have struck in Angus, destroying large numbers of one of Scotland's most endangered species. Wildlife experts have discovered 130 opened freshwater pearl mussels at the River ...

Environment experts have succeeded in breeding 4,000 pearl mussels in captivity It's been a long, lonely old life for Britain's few remaining freshwater pearl mussels - until now. For environment ...

In healthy oxygen-rich rivers these mussels can live up to 130 years The extraordinary life cycle of the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera enabled it to thrive in rivers across most ...

They were hunted to near-extinction. Now a £3.5m project aims to let the Scottish molluscs flourish again The sun shines on clear river water running through a valley in the Cairngorms, bringing the ...

Oysters are the main producers of pearls, but clams and mussels can also create them. Pearls form when oysters secrete layers of nacre around irritants. There are natural and cultured pearls, with ...

A new romantic comedy involves one of Scotland's most notorious forms of wildlife crime - freshwater pearl mussel poaching. Scottish Mussel's writer, director and star Talulah Riley hopes the movie ...