Can whelks contribute to food security and human health?

Food security is a fundamentally important challenge faced by our society. This inter-disciplinary research project investigated the extent to which marine whelks could be more effectively utilized as a functional food. Surveys of the shell fisheries in India indicated that there is significant wastage of whelk meat and industry surveys in Australia indicate there is good potential for whelk aquaculture. The whelks were found to have good nutritional properties and bioactive compounds, which supports their use in traditional medicine. This thesis shows the potential to maximize utilization and value-add whelk resources, as functional foods and natural medicines to support human health.