The Truffle of the sea, or ‘Venus Verrucosa’ prefers sandy sea beds which are muddy and full of debris it can hide in. By breathing through special ‘traps’ and simply filtering the ‘phytoplankton’, it gets the nourishment it feeds on. It is a gregarious species and likes to live in colonies. Generally it breeds in the late spring and start of the summer, but can be caught at any time of the year. The most common techniques for catching them include the use of ‘water rakes’ and by hand.
The flesh on this mollusc is very lean but has a high protein content. However, because of their considerable sodium content, they are generally not recommended in the dietary treatment of arterial hypertension.
