Guwahati: Imagine having a list that tells you where all to shop for your favourite snails and at what prices. A new study by researchers from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore and others have provided a comprehensive list of freshwater molluscs’ species harvested in India’s northeast region as well as the traditional utilisation of each of these and their availability in various markets across the region.
The study, authored by Anushree Jadhav and colleagues, was published in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge journal. It’s the first ever documentation of the diversity of freshwater molluscs sold and in what quantity, their location of harvest as well as associated traditional knowledge and uses among different tribal communities of Northeast India.
Although there have been studies that show the nutritional and mineral value of snails, data on the details of harvest, the number of species consumed, and traditional knowledge associated with them have been lacking.
A total of 23 markets in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and West Bengal were surveyed, and it was found that none of the species sold in these markets comes under the Threatened category of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. All the species, however, fall into either the Least Concern (LC) or Data Deficient (DD) categories. The information was gathered through market surveys and informal interactions with the vendors who sell molluscs in these markets.
“In many parts of the world, freshwater molluscs are harvested extensively for food and medicine. Northeast India is one such region where freshwater molluscs are consumed by the tribal and economically impoverished communities. These molluscs are in high demand as they are a cheap source of protein and provide food security, livelihoods and medicine,” the researchers associated with the study said.
Among all the surveyed states, it was found that the highest number of molluscs are sold in the markets in Mizoram (seven species), closely followed by Meghalaya (six species).
“Our results show that local communities use only freshwater molluscs, and none of the markets surveyed and interviews conducted indicate the use of terrestrial snails. The survey yielded 18 species of freshwater molluscs (16 gastropods and two bivalves) belonging to five families and eight genera,” says the study.
Snails are sold not only in the main markets of the region, but also along the roadside markets and small village markets during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Snails are either already packed in one-kilogram packets or sold loose according to the weight of one mug (~500 g). The price across all northeast Indian states is relatively the same for specific species, but it varied according to the seasons.
The price for Brotia spp., I. dissimilis, F. bengalensis, P. olea, M. tuberculata, and Paludomus spp., varies between Rs 20 and Rs 50 during monsoon and can go up to Rs 100 per mug during off-season (post-monsoon and summer). In some cases, only snail meat is sold for Rs 100. In Manipur, during the ‘Cheiraoba’ festival in March and April, the price for bivalves ranges from around Rs 100 to Rs 150 for one kilogram. In the markets of Agartala (Tripura), the price range for F. bengalensis varied from Rs 80 to Rs 100 per kg, and for Lamellidens sp., the price was Rs 40 per kg, which remained similar throughout the year.
The study also reports that almost 63% of the vendors selling edible molluscs in most parts of northeast India are women, 23% are only men, and the remaining 14% are men and women.
The researchers also noted that it is high time to start looking at the possibility of farming edible snails and treating them as mini livestock, considering the current food and nutritional insecurity. Several studies show that the protein content in snails is higher than that found in poultry. Also, looking at the present global climate change issues due to farming and consumption of beef, pork, and chicken, edible freshwater snails can act as an excellent substitute.
Snail farming can also be a mode of income generation for the indigenous people and earn a substantial amount of money by selling freshwater molluscs in local markets. Snail cuisines can also be made a “boutique cuisine” to increase the tourism potential of northeast India. Studies elsewhere have shown that snails are easy to rear with low maintenance at the commercial level with high yields on minimal input.
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“The government should formulate a formal policy to encourage ‘Heliciculture’ programs that will help in the conservation of the wild population and provide employment opportunities for the poor and tribal people. This will reduce the rampant collection of molluscs from the wild population. Other alternatives, such as the rearing of molluscs in their backyard ponds or along with the rice paddy during the monsoon season, should be encouraged,” the researchers say.
As freshwater molluscs are being harvested and extracted directly from the wild populations in large quantities from Northeast India, it is important that data on population trends, habitat requirements, ecological importance, and the consequences of any species loss is documented and shared with the local communities, managers and policymakers to protect and conserve the species before it goes extinct.
“Large-scale harvest or production of molluscs for human consumption has several issues that have to be considered, including the practicality of collecting from the wild and the possibility of overharvesting, economic mass-rearing techniques, preservation and storage of the products and marketing,” the study says.
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