Main commercial species

Molluscs and crustaceans

Molluscs and crustaceans are invertebrate aquatic animals with soft bodies which are ordinarily enclosed within a protective outer shell. Crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs, are covered with a flexible, articulated carapace. Other species, such as oysters and scallops, belong to the mollusc family. Some molluscs, notably squid, do not have an outer shell, but have a small internal carapace.

• American lobster
• Snow crab
• Pink shrimp
• Rock crab
• Blue mussel
• Deep sea scallop
• American oyster
• Squid
• Clams

American lobster
Homarus americanus

The lobster, king of Canadian shellfish, is famous for its delectable meat. This is the most profitable of all the species that are harvested commercially in the Gulf Region.

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Snow crab
Chionoecetes opilio

This crustacean belongs to the spider crab family. It is one of the most important commercial species and one of the most highly prized shellfish in the Gulf Region.

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Pink shrimp
Pandalus borealis

The pink shrimp is a small crustacean belonging to the same order as lobsters and crayfish. It is commonly found in areas where the bottom consists of sand or mud. It eats other small bottom-dwelling crustaceans and plankton.

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Rock Crab
Cancer irroratus

The habitat of the common rock crab extends from Labrador all the way to South Carolina. It is found in large numbers in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, owing to the region's many bays and to the shallow waters of which the rock crab is particularly fond. This resource is attracting increasing interest from Gulf Region fishermen.

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Blue mussel
Mytilus edulis

This mollusc is very common in some of the bays and estuaries of the Gulf Region. Mussel farming is an important aquaculture activity, specially in Prince Edward Island.

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Deep sea scallop
Placopecten magellanicus

The giant scallop is a swimming bivalve. It lives on minuscule plants and animals which it extracts from the water by means of a sophisticated filtering system.

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American oyster
Crassostrea Virginica

The oyster is a sedentary bivalve. It is harvested both in its natural environment and in leased areas that are used as beds for oyster farming.

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Squid
Illex illecebrosus

The squid is a mollusc with an internal carapace supporting a soft, muscular body that can assume the colour of its environment, the better to escape its predators.

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Clams

The term "clam" is used to denote a broad range of bivalve molluscs found along Canada's Atlantic coast. The leading commercial species are the soft-shell clam, the Stimpson's surf clam and the northern quahog.

Soft-shell clam Mya arenaria	Stimpson's surf clam Spisula soldissima
Northern quahog Mercenaria mercenaria