Nova Scotia

Commercial whelk fishery opens in eastern Cape Breton

A small gathering was held in Louisbourg to celebrate the first season opening of a commercial fishery for whelk in waters off eastern Cape Breton.

Demand for small sea snail high in Asian countries such as China, Japan and Vietnam

On Tuesday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada officially announced the opening of a commercial whelk fishery in eastern Cape Breton. Louisbourg Seafoods, the company that is processing whelk, says it plans to harvest about 700 metric ton of the sea snails this year.
On Tuesday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada officially opened a commercial whelk fishery in eastern Cape Breton. Louisbourg Seafoods, the company processing whelk, says it plans to harvest about 700 metric tonnes of the sea snails this year. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

Cape Breton's seafood industry has expanded to include a small sea snail that's become a popular buffet item.

On Tuesday, an event at Louisbourg Seafoods processing plant ushered in the first commercial whelk fishery in waters along the island's eastern coast. 

The Louisbourg, N.S., company began experimenting with the harvest of whelk more than a decade ago. 

"We have a science team and they spend all their time looking at this, and basically developed a clear understanding of what the fishery was out there and how best to manage it," said Allan MacLean, Louisbourg Seafoods' senior operations manager.

The whelk fishery off eastern Cape Breton, in an area known as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Area 4Vs, was previously licensed only for exploratory harvesting to determine if stocks could sustain a commercially viable operation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Tuesday in a news release.

Sherril Delvecchio who handles quality control for Louisbourg Seafoods weighs and checks a processed whelk at the company's plant on Tuesday.
Sherril Delvecchio, who handles quality control for Louisbourg Seafoods, weighs and checks a processed whelk at the company's plant on Tuesday. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

Fishing began earlier this month, with Louisbourg Seafoods now harvesting the edible mollusc about 160 kilometres off Louisbourg along a sandy and muddied ocean floor.

The company says demand for whelk is high in Asian countries such as China, Japan and Vietnam, with local interest being developed across North America. 

"It's served in buffets and that seems to be where the biggest market is, is in the buffet market," said MacLean. 

"It's like a clam. It's a bit chewy. I love it.… It's just personal preference, but I find it extremely tasty."

Processing plant workers sort through cleaned whelk at Louisbourg Seafoods after the announcement of a new commercial fishery for the sea snail in eastern Cape Breton.
Processing plant workers sort through cleaned whelk at Louisbourg Seafoods after the official opening of a new commercial fishery for the sea snail in eastern Cape Breton. (Erin Pottie/CBC)

MacLean says the company's commercial licence allows Louisbourg Seafoods to stay open for four additional months, meaning more work for about 70 employees at the plant.

Mike Kelloway, the MP for Cape Breton-Canso, says future growth of the market is being explored.

"The greatest stewards of this fishery are the fishers themselves, and they're going to give us hard data in terms of observation," Kelloway said following a tour of the whelk operation.

"Can we grow this? The goal is to grow. And the environment and a lot of other factors will determine how well we grow it."

This year's allowable catch of whelk along Cape Breton is 700 metric tonnes with fishing occurring between July and December.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Erin Pottie

Reporter

Erin Pottie is a CBC reporter based in Sydney. She has been covering local news in Cape Breton for 17 years. Story ideas welcome at [email protected].