Abstract

The West Indian topshell or “whelk”, Cittarium pica, is a marine gastropod found only in the western central Atlantic. It inhabits intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of rocky shores and has been widely exploited throughout its range since prehistoric times. Although whelk populations have declined, they remain important to many small-scale fishers across the region. In Saint Lucia, the whelk known as “bwigo” has cultural and economic importance but the local fishery remains unregulated, unmonitored, and undocumented. This research seeks to fill some of the knowledge gaps and thereby provide stakeholders with information that is important for making management choices. Data were collected via consultations with key informants; by conducting an interview survey with a large subset of the whelk fishers; and through observation, measurement and participation in whelk harvesting trips. A total of 108 part-time whelk fishers were recorded from 11 communities around the island. Typically Saint Lucian whelk fishers are young males with at least a primary school education, and a multi-occupational livelihood strategy. All harvest whelks on a part-time basis, most engage in other fisheries, whilst many also have additional employment outside the fishing industry. No whelk fisher relies entirely on income derived from whelk fishing, but 60% state that whelk contribute to more than a quarter of their annual earnings. Whelks are harvested by hand from rocks along the shoreline, in the surf zone and in the subtidal areas down to 3 m by free-divers. Some harvest sites are accessed by boat, but the majority are reached on foot and by swimming from the shoreline. Harvesting frequency is strongly dependent on sea conditions and water clarity and therefore highly variable. All fishers give away a part of their catch, most also keep some for personal consumption and the remainder is sold for local consumption. A majority of whelk fishers reported observing negative changes in size and abundance of whelks over the last decade, and made suggestions for management action.

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