Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has officially opened a new commercial whelk fishery on the east coast of Nova Scotia.
The fishery, located off the coast of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, will allow a harvest of 700 metric tons (MT) of whelk per year. An edible sea snail, the whelk will be mainly exported to China, Japan, and Vietnam.
The whelk fishery, located in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Area 4Vs, was previously only licensed for exploratory harvesting to see if the stock could sustain commercial harvesting. According to DFO, trials determined that can be done viably.
The new fishery will result in the creation of 70 jobs in Eastern Nova Scotia, Canada Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Diane Lebouthillier said in a release
"I am pleased to announce that the new commercial whelk fishery in Nova Scotia is officially open for business for its very first year in Eastern Nova Scotia,” Lebouthillier said. “This is great news for the harvesters and processors in the province, and for international consumers of Canadian seafood."
DFO said there is currently just one commercial whelk license holder in the NAFO Area 4Vs region, which means exact information regarding landings and landed values can’t be shared for privacy reasons.
Louisbourg Seafoods is now harvesting whelks roughly 160 kilometers off the coast of Louisbourg, and that demand for the species in China, Japan, and Vietnam is high.
"It's served in buffets and that seems to be where the biggest market is, is in the buffet market," Louisbourg Seafoods Operation Manager Allan MacLean told CBC.
Canada Parliamentary Secretary to Minister Lebouthillier Mike Kelloway said the new fishery shows how Canada can work to develop new resources.
“This first season opening of the commercial whelk fishery is a prime example of how the collaboration between harvesters and scientists can lead to a new and healthy fishery,” Kelloway said.
In June 2024, DFO reopened the Northern cod fishery after a 32-year moratorium, but the move has stirred controversy, as inshore harvesters demanded the government adjust how it allocated the quota to meet the terms of a long-standing agreement. Harvesters have gone as far as interrupting meetings in protest to garner more government attention to the issue.
