The last few capsules on the unattached end are usually void of eggs. Most eggs will never hatch, but will serve as food for the single individual that does. Whelks emerge as tiny images of the adults. Whelks make tasty meals themselves. Crabs will use pincers to crush and break open the heavy shell while sea gulls simply drop it onto a hard surface.
Humans consume the whelk animal, too.
Today in seaside resort towns of England, whelks are boiled and sold by street vendors as a delicacy. It would be pricey delicacy here. A Florida book on sea shells notes a value of ten dollars for an unprepared live Lightning Whelk. Other parts of the shell are utilized by cultures in and beyond the whelks' range. Left-handed shells are considered sacred in parts of Asia.