NE India consumes 18 species of freshwater snails; Mizoram biggest seller

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.