Aquaculture species: Research on storage of live whelk

Fiskeriforskning has implemented research on the storage of live whelks in different temperatures. The findings show the whelk is well suited to capture-based aquaculture.

The whelk is a newcomer among species fished by the Norwegian coastal fleet.

The fishing grounds are spread along the entire Norwegian coast, but the distance to the nearest land facility can be great.

Capture-based aquaculture of the whelks prior to transportation is therefore necessary. However, experience has shown that some whelks die before they make it to land.

As experience from the industry showed survival rates were better in winter than summer, an important question was whether the reason was the water temperature in which the whelks were stored.

Wet and dry storage

Fiskeriforskning received the task to study this closer from the Fishery and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund. Researchers experimented with storing whelks in water at temperatures of 4, 10 and 15 ºC. After 12 weeks, the mortality rate was extremely low.

Experiments were also carried out on dry storage of whelks for a three-day period at temperatures of 1, 4 and 8 ºC, which produced extremely good results.

"The whelk is well suited to capture-based aquaculture," says Senior Researcher Sten Siikavuopio.

"There is nothing which indicates that the fishermen's observations of mortality during storage can be attributed to the temperature at which they are stored. The storage method is likely to be the reason the whelks are dying."

Siikavuopio is now working on a project looking more closely at the different storage methods which the fishermen utilise.

Whelks are currently stored in relatively small sacks. The new project will involve expanding the sacks so the whelks have better conditions for survival.

What about the taste?

Following the period of storage, the researchers also examined quality. Whelks from the different temperature groups were assessed on the criteria of smell, taste, consistency and muscle index.

The after-taste was generally described as a sweet shellfish taste with a hint of bitterness. There were slight differences in quality between the different groups of whelks, apart from the muscle index, which was larger when the whelk was stored at the higher temperatures.

Thus, it pays to store whelks at lower temperatures.

End up as snacks

In Europe, the French consume the most whelks, but Asia provides the largest markets.

The whelk is most popular in South Korea, where it is mainly used as a snack. Products on the market include packets of spicy morsels and whole whelks marinated and preserved.

Whelks have been fished in several countries around the North Atlantic since the 1950s. In Norway, the whelk is a little-exploited resource, but is now one of several interesting new species for the coastal fleet.

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Aquaculture species: Research on storage of live whelk