Rope-grown mussel farming is among the most sustainable forms of aquaculture: mussels filter-feed naturally, generally requiring no external feed, fertilisers or chemicals, while improving local water quality and leaving a minimal seabed footprint. Ireland's rope-grown mussel sector is a vital employer in coastal communities, but growers in the Irish southwest face a persistent challenge of tubeworm fouling, which drives up labour and fuel costs, causes product loss and downgrading, and accelerates equipment wear.

SERPENT addresses this challenge by developing a grower-accessible tool that forecasts tubeworm settlement risk in real time, supporting improved decision-making around line thinning, harvest timing and site positioning. Working with a commercial producer, SERPENT identifies environmental drivers behind tubeworm fouling in the Irish Southwest, an urgent task as warming seas reshape biofouling settlement patterns across Europe. SERPENT outputs, including open-access guidance, workshops and the a decision support platform, are expected to extend this knowledge sector-wide.