The blue mussel Mytilus edulis L. is an important species for the aquaculture industry in Europe. Due to stakeholder conflicts and a shortage in spat availability in nearshore areas the expansion of this production sector is limited. In offshore areas wind farms offer good opportunities for growing mussels on longlines installed in between the wind turbines. However, the conditions off the coast in the open ocean are harsh.This ongoing study aims to evaluate which material provides the best attachment to the byssal threads of Mytilus edulis under various physical, chemical and biological aspects. Therefore, different collector materials with settled mussels will be deployed in two test locations in the German Bight. One test area is 17 nautical miles off the coast in the vicinity of the lighthouse Roter Sand (offshore test location), and one test area is close to the Jade Bay in Wilhelmshaven (nearshore test location). A control facility is installed in the recirculating system in the institute lab.The detachment force, which is needed to remove a single mussel from the collector material, will be measured with a digital force gauge. Further, the nanostructure of the collector material will be analyzed by using electron microscopy. The attachment strength to different materials and at various locations will be compared to design a collector for offshore mussel cultivation withstanding a high energy environment.