Farming the Edible Aquatic Snail Pomacea canaliculata as a Mini-Livestock

Sampat Ghosh,Chuleui Jung,Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow

doi:10.3390/fishes7010006

Sampat Ghosh, Chuleui Jung + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes7010006

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Journal: Fishes	Publication Date: Dec 28, 2021
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Andong National University, University of Oulu

Abstract

In the present paper, we describe the farming system of Pomacea canaliculata, an edible freshwater snail, as it is practiced by a farmer as mini-livestock in the vicinity of Andong in Korea. We visited the snail farm several times in the summer and winter of the year and conducted interviews with the farm manager using a semi-structured questionnaire. The farm is housed in polythene tunnels and uses a tank pen of trench type made up of propylene and measuring 1 m × 2 m × 0.5 m (length × width × height) in size. A regulated inflow of fresh water and outflow of used water was installed, with water level not exceeding 5 to 7 cm. As feed of snails, commercial fish feed is generally provided. The life cycle of the P. canaliculata might differ in captivity under the controlled environmental conditions than that of an individual in the wild environment. The farming system of snails, particularly P. canaliculata, does not involve high labor-intensive, high capital investment and also does not require high through-put cutting edge technology. In addition to providing nutrient-dense snail meat, establishing a snailery could therefore augment the economic condition of farmers in the poorer regions of the world and encourage sustainability and biodiversity conservation.

Highlights

Various land as well as freshwater snails have been accepted as food among different communities around the world
Snail gathering is often an important source of livelihood for rural dwellers [8,9], but it is unwise harvesting from the wild because it can hurt the biodiversity of the snail community of a region and, it does not ensure a continuous supply of edible snails throughout the year
Yildirim et al [10] noticed a decline in the population of two edible snail species, namely Helix pomatia and Cryptomphalus aspersa, due to over-harvesting and increasing use of agro-chemicals

Summary

Introduction

Various land as well as freshwater snails have been accepted as food among different communities around the world. Yildirim et al [10] noticed a decline in the population of two edible snail species, namely Helix pomatia and Cryptomphalus aspersa, due to over-harvesting and increasing use of agro-chemicals. In his response to problems of a similar nature, Gheoca [11] suggested heliciculture as a tool to maintain the edible snails’ natural population in Romania. Harvesting of edible snails from the wild environment, mostly during the rainy season, is common in many parts of the world, including several areas of India, where nourishment is poor or scarce and where the establishment of snaileries for farming mini-livestock could be of benefit to the population (Figure 1)

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