Processing shellfish like for example any bivalve such as mussels or oysters or scallops can be very labour intensive. Initially one has to position each shellfish to enable the inserting of a cutting implement to separate into two halves. This type of work is extremely repetitive and dependent on the different skill levels of each person carrying out this work. Therefore output can be erratic and hard to predict.
Other issues involved are health and safety whereby large rooms or work areas with large tables are required. It is necessary to be mindful of repetitive injuries thereby requiring a constant rotation of personnel. It is also necessary to sharpen all tools and provide protective clothing for personnel and make sure that these work areas are regularly cleaned to minimise shellfish contamination.
Some mechanical apparatus used to carry out such work can also suffer from being expensive to build and maintain and be so large as to require special housing. Some machines can be too complicated and be sensitive to simple breakdowns. Reliability is another problem for any complicated machinery making problem-detecting very difficult. Some machines can be difficult to clean which can further cause problems in excessive machine downtime.
The discussion herein of the background to the invention is included to explain the context of the invention. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as of the priority date of any of the claims.