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Enormous whales, belugas and seals are found in the
St. Lawrence River. These marine mammals are drawn by the abundant food found
in these waters, as are the hundreds of thousands birds
living in the area. Fish and shellfish are caught
as food by humans, though quotas are established to prevent overfishing. Did you
know that laws exist to protect endangered animals, plants
and habitats? And there are many fun facts
to learn about the river!
Fishermen have been plying their trade on the St. Lawrence River for over 500
years. Unfortunately, humans have been overfishing the river, and the fishermen's
catches are getting smaller and smaller. In the depths of the waters of the St.
Lawrence Estuary, mollusks and shellfish are not as healthy as they once were.
It seems it has to do with something they ate…
Inside the shell
The critters of the sea: crustaceans and mollusks
Although these animals are not fish, humans catch and eat them, their
delicate flavour the main ingredient in many tasty dishes. While you
have certainly heard of lobster, crab and shrimp, did you know there
are 38 000 species of crustaceans in the world? Some are minute and
feed exclusively on the bodies of other marine organisms. They are
called detritivores, which means "eaters of waste"!
Snow crabs
This orange-brown crustacean blends in with the mud of their natural
habitat. Though but little known until roughly a dozen years ago,
the arrival of snow crab in supermarkets in June is now a great event.
Did you know that a large portion of the snow crab harvest is sold
in Japan?
Snow crabs are caught by placing lobster traps baited with mollusks,
seaweed and small crustaceans at the bottom of the St. Lawrence. As
soon as a crab enters the trap, it is caught and cannot escape. Next
stop, your dinner table!
Blue as a North American lobster
Did you know that a lobster is as blue as the sea when it is caught?
It only takes on its bright red colour after it is plunged into a
pot of boiling water (ouch!). Lobsters are relatively slow swimmers,
moving about lazily with their tails. But the lobster's most curious
characteristic is the fact its shell serves as its skeleton. Over
the course of its lifetime, a lobster will shed its shell several
times. Did you know that a lobster can live to be up to 50 years old—unless
it is unlucky enough to get caught in a lobster trap! Lobster is considered
a delicacy.
Blue mussels, a propulsion swimmer!
Blue mussels live on the rocky riverbed of the St. Lawrence Estuary.
They move about by emitting a liquid with explosive force, somewhat
like a propulsion reactor in a rocket ship! But this propulsion only
lets them travel about a few metres—a week!
Watch out for toxic mollusks
Mollusks eat by filtering out microscopic particles in the water.
Harvesting mollusks on the banks of the St. Lawrence River is only
authorized in certain areas because eating contaminated mollusks can
lead to potentially fatal food poisoning. Most mollusks sold in stores
are grown on fish farms.
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