About Coastal Pantry

A field reference built around Canada's edible shoreline — what grows there, what lives there, and what the rules are for taking any of it home.

What this resource covers

Coastal Pantry began as a set of working notes on species identification and regulatory compliance for recreational foragers along the British Columbia coast. Over time, those notes expanded to include the Atlantic provinces and a broader set of species — seaweeds, bivalves, crustaceans, and edible vascular plants that grow above the tideline in salt-influenced zones.

The material here draws on published research from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, provincial environment ministries, and peer-reviewed marine biology literature. Where regulations are cited, the relevant DFO or provincial authority is linked directly. Rules change between seasons; this resource does not replace official notices but aims to make them easier to interpret.

How the content is structured

Each topic is written as a standalone reference piece rather than a narrative article. The goal is that someone standing at the tideline with a question — is this safe to eat, is this area open, what size does this crab need to be — can find a usable answer quickly and verify it against the official source linked on the same page.

The three current topics are:

Contact and corrections

Errors in species identification or regulatory information are taken seriously. If something here is wrong, please write to contact@coastalpantry.org with the relevant source and we will review and update the page. Corrections are noted with a revision date at the bottom of the affected page.

For general enquiries:

Disclaimer

Nothing on this site constitutes professional advice on food safety, toxicology, or legal compliance. Foraging carries inherent risks; some coastal species are toxic under certain conditions and may be regulated differently across provinces and management areas. Always verify current regulations with Fisheries and Oceans Canada before harvesting.