Between 2021 and 2025 Cefas conducted a pilot study to investigate which
common whelk (Buccinum undatum) metrics may be informative to collect for
English waters stock delineation purposes, and at what spatial resolution.
These metrics primarily include shell length distributions and associated
sampling metrics (haul coordinates, gear type, pot soak times). Select samples
were sent to Bangor University for dissections, providing further biometrics
including; shell dimensions (length, width, aperture), weights (whole animal,
gonad, foot), sex, maturity, estimated ages. Mark-Recapture Surveys were
conducted in 2022 and 2024 in The Wash where tag numbers, positional/temporal
data for release/recapture, and environmental parameters (sea depth and
temperature) were recorded alongside shell length distributions.
