UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology Professor Bradley Stevens has been awarded $220,000 in Saltonstall-Kennedy funding for a two-year study to improve the conservation of the New England whelk, a large, edible sea snail, locally known as a "conch."
"This is an opportunity to study a fishery before it is significantly depleted," said Dr. Stevens. "Although relatively small now, the whelk fishery has the capacity to expand significantly virtually overnight, and we need to anticipate the effects of such an expansion."
At $3 million in landings per year in Massachusetts (2007 estimates), the whelk fishery is small compared to fisheries such as lobster and scallops, and it operates with few regulations and virtually no biological information, therefore, the population’s degree of vulnerability is a question mark. In recent years, the demand for New England whelk has increased, especially in Asian and Italian markets.