Assessment of the status of wild populations of land snail (escargot) Helix pomatia L. in Moldova:: the effect of exploitation

Helix pomatia L., the Roman snail, is a species faced with growing commercial interest in Moldova. Its life history characteristics (slow maturation and recruitment, high mortality among juveniles and low fecundity) along with its strong spatial aggregation, makes it especially vulnerable to exploitation. In this study, differences in density, shell size and age distribution were assessed in 7 unexploited and 10 exploited sites in the northern and central parts of Moldova. A significant impact of exploitation on snail population densities, shell size of adult snails and age distribution was revealed. Exploited sites had much lower densities than unexploited ones and in two places no live snails were found. This may suggest that exploitation is currently carried out at an unsustainable level, but additional information on the demography of populations and intensity of exploitation is required in order to make inferences regarding sustainability and long-term population management. There was a higher proportion of adult snails in exploited sites than in non-exploited, because of the collection strategies: not only adults, but also all other age groups are gathered. Bigger adult shell size in exploited sites may be related to lower population density, but further study is required to confirm this. Establishing of well-organized population monitoring systems and development of snail breeding enterprises are proposed in order to conserve the species in Moldova.