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Warty venus clam:professional buying guide, season, minimum size, Granville and north Brittany

Warty venus clam for the trade: season September to April, December peak, absent in summer, 40 mm size, Granville and Erquy, health label, substitutes.

Updated 5 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy warty venus clams?
  3. How to check a batch of warty venus clams?
  4. Which size and which use?
  5. What to replace the warty venus clam with?
  6. What makes the price of the warty venus clam move?
  7. Frequently asked questions

The warty venus clam (Venus verrucosa), "praire" in French, is a bivalve shellfish with a thick, ridged shell, dredged on the coarse sand and gravel beds of the western English Channel, mainly around the Bay of Granville and north Brittany; it is sold live, served raw on seafood platters or stuffed, and is only found at fish auctions from September to April. In 2024, Granville sold just over half of the warty venus clams sold at French fish auctions (FranceAgriMer).

Buying sheet

Warty venus clam
Scientific nameVenus verrucosa
Peak seasonSeptember to April, peak in December. Almost absent from fish auctions from May to August (2 t in May 2024)
Closed seasonIn the English Channel, fishing allowed only from 1 January to 30 April and from the second Monday of September to 31 December (French order of 11 August 2008). Licences, days and hours set bed by bed by the fisheries committees
Minimum size40 mm in the Atlantic and the English Channel, 25 mm in the Mediterranean (EU regulation 2019/1241); 4.3 cm for French vessels in the Atlantic and the English Channel (French order of 28 January 2013)
Size grades on price listsExamples of trade practice, not a standard: per kilo, sometimes in pieces per kilo; "large" or "medium"
Main French fish auctions (2024)782 t sold at auction. Granville 52%, Erquy 21%, Brest 15%, Saint-Quay-Portrieux 7%, Saint-Malo 3%
OriginsFAO area 27: western English Channel (Normano-Breton Gulf); the Brest fish auction also sells it
Fishing methodsDredge
YieldNo published value for the warty venus clam. For a related venus clam, about 18% flesh (FAO, provisional value): to be measured on your own deliveries
StorageLive, chilled, dry, in its original packaging with the health label

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Minimum size: Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Annexes V to VII and IX. Shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer).

When to buy warty venus clams?

From autumn to the end of winter. In 2024, French fish auctions sold 60 to 100 tonnes of warty venus clams a month from January to April and from September to November, then about 210 tonnes in December, the month of seafood platters. Almost nothing from May to August (2 t in May 2024, no sales from June to August): in the English Channel, warty venus clam fishing is closed from 1 May to the second Monday of September (French order of 11 August 2008). The average price rises from November, as holiday demand sets in, like that of the king scallop, sold at the same western Channel fish auctions.

How to check a batch of warty venus clams?

  • The health label: like all live shellfish, the warty venus clam travels with an identification mark of the dispatcher and a packing date. The label must be kept for at least 60 days (Regulation (EC) 853/2004).
  • The closed shell: a live clam is closed, or closes firmly when touched.
  • The weight: a full clam is heavy.
  • The smell: of the sea, fresh; throw away any clam that is open and inert.

The warty venus clam lives in coarse sand but holds little of it: a rinse is usually enough before opening.

Which size and which use?

UseWhat to look for
Platter, rawregular, medium-sized, very fresh clams
Stuffed, gratinatedlarge clams, solid shell for service
Pasta, saucesmall clams, or shucked flesh

Uses noted by the editorial team.

What to replace the warty venus clam with?

UseSubstituteNote
Platter, rawDog cockle (amande de mer), carpet shell clam (palourde)dog cockle cheaper, carpet shell more tender
StuffedHard clam (clam), large carpet shell clamshell suited to the oven
In summer, when it is shortCarpet shell clam, cockle, musselfarmed or wild shellfish available

What makes the price of the warty venus clam move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Warty venus clam
Yearly averageabout €4.90/kg
Cheapest monthSeptember: about €3.60/kg
Most expensive monthNovember: about €6.30/kg (December: about €6.00/kg)
Spread between auctionsfrom €4.20/kg (Erquy) to €5.90/kg (Brest)

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). No sales from June to August. Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of warty venus clam volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

Here, the price does not move against landings: holiday demand drives it. When fishing reopened in September 2024, 81 t were sold at the lowest price of the year; from January to April, 61 to 81 t a month, between €3.90 and €4.90/kg. In November, the price climbs to its highest with 100 t, and it stays around €6/kg in December while sales double (213 t). 2025 shows the same profile: September the cheapest, November and December the most expensive. Brest, outside the English Channel, sells at higher prices than the auctions of the Normano-Breton Gulf; the workbook does not give the reason (size, local outlets).

  • The season: prices rising from November, as the holidays approach.
  • Fishing rules: quotas and fishing days set bed by bed make the week's supply.
  • The weather: the dredge does not work in heavy weather.
  • The size: large clams, for stuffing, sell for more.
  • Granville: with half the volumes, the Normandy fish auction makes the market.

Frequently asked questions

When is the warty venus clam in season?

From September to April, with a peak in December. French fish auctions sell almost none from May to August: in the English Channel, fishing is closed from 1 May to the second Monday of September.

What is the price of the warty venus clam?

In 2024, about €4.90/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, from about €3.60/kg in September to about €6.30/kg in November (FranceAgriMer). The price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin.

Where is the warty venus clam sold in France caught?

Mainly in the Normano-Breton Gulf: Granville accounts for more than half of auction sales, ahead of Erquy, Brest and Saint-Quay-Portrieux.

What is the minimum size of a warty venus clam?

40 mm in the Atlantic and the English Channel, 25 mm in the Mediterranean, under EU regulation 2019/1241. French vessels apply a stricter size in the Atlantic and the English Channel: 4.3 cm (French order of 28 January 2013).

Can the warty venus clam be eaten raw?

Yes, it is even its main use on seafood platters, provided it is alive, comes from an approved production area and carries its health label.

Sources

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