![Value of green-lipped mussel exports in 2012 bar chart.](http://static.sciencelearn.org.nz/images/images/000/000/844/full/value_of_green_lipped_mussel_exports_in_2012_oversize20160302-30949-114dli8.jpg?1674165055)
Green-lipped mussels are New Zealand’s major aquaculture species. In 2012, New Zealand mussel farmers exported 34 000 tonnes of green-lipped mussels, worth a total of $190 million. In comparison, exports of New Zealand’s other major aquaculture species (king salmon and Pacific oysters) were worth $51 million and $15 million, respectively.