Dieppe
Seine Maritime
Normandy
With the warming of the sea temperature, the whelks find it more difficult to develop. So the small shell is difficult to find on the stalls and its price explodes.
This is another consequence of global warming: the whelk is becoming increasingly rare. The small edible shell thrives in cold waters, so the increase in sea temperature compromises its proliferation. The whelk is becoming scarce in the Channel and its price explodes on the market.
The whelk, a luxury shell?
In Dieppe, regular customers testify: before we paid them 4€ per kilo, now it’s 6€!. Further on, in front of a stall selling spider crabs, another passer-by abounds: we eat more of them, it has become too expensive and anyway we didn’t see many of them on the market.
As for the sellers, they offer mackerel and scallops but it is difficult to find whelks. Cathy is a fish seller in the market, not far from the basin. For her, the explanation is clear: with the high temperatures, the fishermen worked less. You have to pay for the diesel, the sailors, so if it’s for nothing, it’s not possible.
Cathy, fish and shellfish seller at the Dieppe market
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