SHELLFISH/SEAFOOD

The main species of crustaceans and

molluscs

Crustacean

Spider Crab•We can find them on the Atlantic European Coast and in the Mediterranean Sea.

•They live in the rocky bottoms of the shoreline, although some of these species are migratory.

•Males are easily distinguished from females because their claws are bigger.

•In addition, the former shed their carapace from time to time.

Crustacean:

Brown Crab/ Edible Crab•They are found in the North Sea, North of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

•As most of these species they are nocturnal.

•Brown crabs are captured mainly in France, in Brittany.

•Perhaps its most notable feature is their very big and powerful claws with a characteristic black tip.

Crustacean:

Velvet Crab•We can find them in all shoreline of the European Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

•They are captured mainly in England and Scotland where there are lots because they prefer cold waters.

•Their main predator is octopus, in fact the velvet crab is used as bait in the octopus fishing.

•Their lateral movement is very characteristic of these kinds of crabs.

Crustacean:

Spiny Lobster/Red Lobster•In Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa it is called crayfish/crawfish.

•They are caught all around the world because it is regarded a delicacy in a lot of countries.

•They have spiny antennae but not too much developed claws.

•Generally they are more or less reddish but, although less known, they can be greenish too. Obviously their name then is Green lobster and they are imported from the west coast of Africa.

Crustacean:

European Lobster•Also called Common lobster as opposed to Canadian and American lobsters.

•They can be distinguished through their colours. The European lobster is bluish, in fact in Asturias it is named Blue lobster, and the Canadian lobster has an orange hue.

•Their first pair of legs are two powerful claws which must be tied up so as to handle them.

Crustacean:

Barnacle/Neck Goose Barnacle•They can be found on the Pacific Coast of North America, Chile and the European Atlantic shoreline as far as the north of Morocco.

•Barnacles grow in groups on rocks and they prefer places with strong waves so their capture is a very dangerous work that most times increases their prize.

• Although they are crustacean they are filter feeder as mollusc.

•In Spain it is prized as a delicacy and it is caught in Galicia and Asturias. Barnacles are also eaten in Portugal and France.

Crustacean:

Prawn King Prawn There are a lot of species all around the

world in both fresh and salt water.

Their size is smaller than the king prawn and their colour is grey when they are alive ,but they turn red when they are cooked .

In American English they are named

shrimps .

The colour of this species is pinkish with brown stripes across its body and its size is between 12/15 cm.

In Spain the most prized king prawns are from Huelva.

Molluscs:

Clam Cockle The word clam is used as the general

term for bivalve and especially for the species that live buried in the mud or sand in the United States ,but not in the United Kingdom where the term is referred to specific species of clams.

In Galicia, the main seller in Spain, they are sowed in the sand so it could be regarded as a crop.

We can find them in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world.

They have rounded shells which are symmetrical. Their ribbed shell is also a very characteristic feature of these molluscs.

Sometimes this word is also given to other small bivalves so they are known as True cockles.

Molluscs

Mussel•They can be found all around the world, but they prefer cold seas.

•The mussels shell is black and its shape is similar to a tear.

•They attached themselves to a solid substrate which is normally rock, but also ships, platforms and anything that is in the sea.

•In addition, they are able to reproduce easily so on some occasions they can become a pest. But generally these behaviours have been used by men in order to grow them.

•The structures for mussel farming are known as “bateas”.

Molluscs:

Oyster Scallop Also known as European flat oyster or

mud oyster, we can find them on the European Atlantic Coast and the Mediterranean Sea, but nowadays they also come from sea farming.

They are regarded as a delicacy and normally they are associated with luxury.

The common way to eat them is uncooked and only dressed with a bit of lemon.

Most species lie on sandy bottoms and when they are in danger they are able to get away by swimming.

Its shape looks like a fan and its shell is the symbol of pilgrims who travel to Santiago de Compostela.