Shellfish Facts for Kids

Shellfish are amazing creatures that live in water, like oceans, rivers, and lakes. They are not fish, but they are often eaten as food. This group includes animals like clams, crabs, and lobsters. They are a big part of many meals around the world!

Cooked mussels

What Are Shellfish?
- Types of Shellfish
- Shellfish in Food and Culture
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What Are Shellfish?

Shellfish is a cooking term for water animals without backbones that people eat. These animals include three main groups:

Molluscs: These are soft-bodied animals, often with a hard shell.
Crustaceans: These animals have a hard outer shell and jointed legs.
Echinoderms: These are spiny-skinned sea animals.

You can find shellfish in both salty ocean water and fresh river or lake water.

Types of Shellfish

Many different kinds of shellfish are popular foods.

Molluscs

Molluscs are a large group of soft-bodied animals. Many of them live inside a hard shell. Common molluscs eaten as food include:

Some other molluscs, like squid, octopus, and cuttlefish, are also eaten. Land snails are also molluscs that some people eat.

Crustaceans

Crustaceans are known for their tough outer shell and many legs. They are often found in the ocean. Some popular crustaceans that people eat are:

Echinoderms

Echinoderms are not as commonly eaten as molluscs or crustaceans. However, in some parts of Asia, people enjoy eating sea cucumbers and sea urchins.

Shellfish in Food and Culture

Sometimes, people use the term finfish to talk about regular fish that have backbones, to tell them apart from shellfish.

In some cultures and religions, eating shellfish is not allowed. For example, some Jewish and Islamic dietary laws say that certain shellfish should not be eaten.

Shellfish are very important in Japanese cuisine. Chefs often use different kinds of shellfish and their eggs (called roe). Both raw and cooked shellfish are used in dishes like sushi and sashimi.