Gastropods

Gastropods. Gastronomy pods? Gastric opioids? Whatever they are, they belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda. This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from the land. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, and land snails and slugs.

The marine shelled species of gastropods include abalone, conches, periwinkles, whelks, and numerous other sea snails that produce seashells that are coiled in the adult stage—though in some, such as all the various limpets, the shell is coiled only in the larval stage, and is a simple conical structure after that. Some gastropods, such as the sea hare, have an internal shell which makes them look more slug than snail to the human eye.

Again, below is not an exhaustive list, but some examples of ecologically important or commercially interesting native species. You will notice that most of the content was dervied from good old Wikipedia :)

Abalone / Ormer (Haliotis tuberculata)

The ormer is a well-known delicacy in the Scilly Isles and the Far East, but is remarkably underrated everywhere else in the UK.

This is understandable, since gastropods are basically slugs & snails, which most Brits understand to be the sole reserve French cuisine.

However, abalone is delicious, and also rare. Only a few people are allowed to wild harvest ormers at certain times of the year and over a certain size. Contravention of this law can bring heavy penalties, even a stint in the slammer.

Still, they are relatively easy to breed and the only need seaweed as nourishment. They’re also great at hoovering up diatoms and other epiphytes (i.e. green slime) from any fish tank. The inside of their shells have an exquisite mother of pearl shine to them, which ancient humans might have used as currency or status symbols (they make for some pretty jazzy earrings).

Common Limpet (Patella vulgata)

The limpet. The ubiquitous snail that fascinates childrens for a matter of seconds, before they get bored and move on to another rock pool. Bloody difficult to get off rock surfaces, primitive humans would have used an antler or similar object to prize these little snails from their footholds.

There is evidence that early humans consumed limpets in vast quantities, proven by the existence of midden mounds: calciferous rock formed by heaps of shells, compressed by sedimentation over thousands of years. Midden mounds are a rare example of humans having a positive impact on their environment, as the calcium carbonate from the shells acts as a soil conditioner for the surrounding fauna by raising the soil pH.

Whelks & Periwinkles

Whelk is a general term which include the predatory dog whelks or Atlantic dogwinkles (Nucella lapillus). This species is found around the coasts of Europe and in the northern west Atlantic coast of North America. It also can be found in estuarine waters along the Atlantic coasts. This species prefers rocky shores, where it eats mussels and acorn barnacles.

The Venerable Bede mentions that in Britain "whelks are abundant, and a beautiful scarlet dye is extracted from them which remains unfaded by sunshine or rain; indeed, the older the cloth, the more beautiful its colour."

In Ireland, on the island of Inishkea North, Co. Mayo, archaeologists found a whelk-dyeing workshop, dated to the 7th century AD, complete with a small, presumed vat, and a pile of broken-open dog-whelk shells.

The common periwinkle or Littorina littorea is a robust intertidal species with a dark and sometimes banded shell. It is native to the rocky shores of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. This species appears in prehistoric shellfish midden mounds throughout Europe, and is believed to have been an important source of food since at least 7500 B.C. in Scotland.

It is still collected in quantity in Scotland, mostly for export to the Continent and also for local consumption. The official landings figures for Scotland indicate over 2,000 tonnes of winkles are exported annually.

Periwinkles are usually picked off the rocks by hand or caught in a drag from a boat. They are mostly eaten in the coastal areas of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, where they are commonly referred to as winkles or in some areas buckies, willicks, or wilks. In Belgium, they are called kreukels or caracoles.

They are commonly sold in paper bags near beaches in Ireland and Scotland, boiled in their local seawater, with a pin or toothpick attached to the bag to enable the extraction of the soft parts from the shell. The meat is high in protein, omega-3 fatty acids and low in fat.

Ongrowing has been investigated as a potential way of increasing commercial value, but no documented pilot facilities have been established. By harvesting the periwinkle during the summer and storing them with feed until December, not only should the grade have been increased, but the market value should be higher since supply is lower in the cold winter months.

Raising the common periwinkle has not been a focus due to its abundance in nature and relatively low price; however, there are potential benefits from aquaculture of this species, including a more controlled environment, easier harvesting, less damages from predators, as well as saving the natural population from commercial harvesting.