Whelks have been traditionally fished in the St. Lawrence River Estuary and are caught using baited hoop traps set out in strings of between 20 and 30. Whelks caught incidentally by lobster and scallop fishermen can provide supplementary income, being used either for human consumption or as bait for longlining. Recreational picking of whelks can be seasonally hazardous due to P.S.P. contamination. Harvesting of whelks is prohibited in the Bay of Fundy year round. Bar clams are commonly found on the southern and western Gulf of St. Lawrence on clean, sandy bottoms at low tide levels.
Bar clams are the largest species of clams found in the northwest Atlantic Region.
They have a thick, chalky shell which is moderately inflated. The clam meat is shucked and minced for use in commercial clam chowders. Harvesting takes place during the summer months using clam hacks or forks. Contaminated The danger that contaminated coastal water may present to public health was the impetus for Canada's adoption of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program in 1948, and the development of the Canadaian Shellfish Sanitation Program CSSP . Under the CSSP, Environment Canada assesses and classifies the sanitary quality of coastal mollusc growing areas.