A group of pensioners from Vejle have traded in their sofas for an old fishing boat. After navigating the murky waters of Danish bureaucracy, they're now officially mussel fishers.

They take DW and grandson on board.

"It's the companionship. It's so beautiful out here in this wonderful nature. The mussels taste good too. And we sometimes take the kids out and show them the fjord," said Thomas.

In the fjord, buoys have been rigged with nets and ropes on which the mussels grow. The shellfish have improved the oxygen content of the water. One mussel filters up to 100 liters of water a day. They thrive in the Baltic Sea fjord of Vejle.

Former electricians, teachers and engineers share the work on board. Ejgil is one of them. 

"I’m in charge of the electrical and mechanical stuff. And then I listen to these other wise guys cracking jokes at my expense! No, seriously, it's fantastic. I learn something here every day," Ejgil said.

Ejgil, Thomas and the others enjoy feeling useful, even in retirement. In Vejle Fjord, mussels were all but extinct - until they came along a few years ago. And became experts on the subject. They harvest two to three tons of mussels a year, and know that what they're doing makes a difference.

"If the entire fjord were a mussel farm, the impact would be massive. But even our small farm makes the water much better," Thomas said.