Do you know Georgia’s official state seashell? It’s the shell of the knobbed whelk, a large sea snail common in coastal waters along the state’s seashore.
Its beautiful, spiraled shell is a familiar sight on barrier island beaches. If you’re like me, you’ve probably brought one or two knobbed whelk shells home from a beach trip to add to your shell collection. (Some folks mistakenly refer to whelks as conchs, which are similar but occur in Florida, the Caribbean and other tropical waters.)
I’d not given much thought to Georgia’s whelks until the other day when I got a note from the state Department of Natural Resources saying that the knobbed whelk fishing season had opened on Jan. 1 and is running through March 31. In “fishing” for whelk, heavy trawling nets are used to scoop up the creatures from the ocean floor.
Although “whelking” is not a major industry in Georgia, there’s a demand for whelk meat from folks who find it tasty in chowder, fritters and other dishes.
The DNR’s note inspired me to learn more about the knobbed whelk, a type of gastropod (one foot). In designating the knobbed whelk shell as Georgia’s state seashell in 1987, the General Assembly said it hoped to “encourage citizens ... and visitors alike to visit the beautiful beaches and coastal waters of the state.”
The Legislature noted that the knobbed whelk’s “attractive, whorled shell” grows to 8 inches long at maturity and displays heavy spines, many knobs, and an orange or red mouth. Minerals in Georgia coastal waters cause ocher striations on the sand-colored, semi-gloss surface.
The whelk itself (Busycon carica) is found from the shoreline to more than 30 feet of water. It grows the coiled shell around itself for protection and uses the shell’s sharp edges to pry open and feed on oysters and clams.
Shells aren’t the only common things found on beaches from whelks: Their long, spiral-shaped strings of egg cases, each holding about 100 tiny eggs, often wash up on beaches from the ocean where the eggs were laid.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter on Wednesday night. Mercury is low in the west just after dark. Venus is very low in the east and rises just before dawn. Mars is high in the southwest at dark and will appear near the moon on Wednesday.
