Kip Hansen’s opinion — January 16, 2023
“Overfishing can cause queen conch—a large sea snail known for its colorful shell and delicious flesh—is on the path to extinction, US government researchers concluded earlier this year after an extensive review of the species. Federal officials are currently considering whether to list the species in the Caribbean as threatened under the law Endangered Species Act (ESA), ended public commenting on the proposal last week. But fishing communities in some countries are protesting the move, worried that such a listing could end their ability to export conch meat to the United States, their biggest market. [ source – Science Magazine ]
Which US Federal officials are considering this drastic move?
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries share responsibility for implementing ESA (the Endangered Species Act). In general, the US FWS manages terrestrial and freshwater species, while NOAA Fisheries Agency is responsible for marine and anadromous species.“
[“Anadromous fishes are those that spawn in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to forage and mature, and return to freshwater to spawn and begin the cycle again.” [ source ] Near me: peeled salmon and sea bass. ]
Why is this such a “drastic” action? Because, according to the Supreme Court, the express purpose of Congress in enacting the ESA was to protect species from extinction at any cost.
What is the current legal status of the Queen Conch fisheries in the United States?
“Queen conch are not harvested for commercial or recreational purposes in Florida waters under state law. [ Queen Conch are not found in any other continental U.S. State. ] In the Caribbean, NOAA Fisheries and Caribbean Fisheries Management Council administers the queen conch in U.S. federal waters, while the governments of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands administer the queen conch in their territorial waters.” inside us Federal The waters were open to fishing for Queen Conch – and at that time, only 7 months a year. Most Federal waters open to conch fishing east of St Croix are 1,000 feet deep – impossible Snorkel for conch over there.
This means, in the end, that there is (almost) there is no queen conch fishery in the United States Federal too much water.
Relating to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, where conch harvesting is administered by territorial authorities; “The commercial landing of conch meat from Puerto Rico and St. Thomas/St. John (territory) and St. Croix (federal and territorial waters) in 2019 is 160,000 yen [individual conch] and is valued at $1 million according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial landings database.”
Latest NOAA seafood The report states:
“According to the 2009 stock rating queen conch to be overfishing, but not overfished based on 2019 capture data.” [This reflects only conch fisheries in US and US Territorial waters, but not other nations and islands.]
Not all conch scientists agree Research based on NOAA Fishery [repeated link] – University of Puerto Rico Richard Appeldoorn, a fisheries biologist, said “My view of the situation is not nearly as severe as the report suggests” and called for better local knowledge surveys. “Mauro Gongora afterward Belize The Fisheries Department points out that 15,000 people in his country benefit from conch, especially in small coastal fishing villages, and conch populations there are breeding well. “We are working very hard to manage conch as best we can, because we recognize the importance of this fishery.” [ source ]
If so – essentially no conch are caught in US federal waters and they are not currently overfished anywhere in the US, and other countries and islands Is there a different way to handle the situation – why is NOAA fishing the proposal to list them under the Endangered Species Act?
The main concern is about Queen Conch in Bahamas where the study was carried out. In the Bahamas, people can virtually harvest as many mature conch as they like (“The shell must have a well-developed flared lip. This is a sign of maturity.”). And, in fact, because juvenile conchs have roughly the same amount of flesh as adult conchs of reproductive age, juvenile conchs are harvested and eaten locally. And this they do, on a large scale (personal experience).
Foreigners cruise the Bahamas on their sailboats, sport fisherman and yachts are allowed to have six conch on board at a time. From personal experience, this means sailors, cruisers, and sport fishermen can harvest as many mature conch as they like, with just enough on board for lunch or dinner at a time. . This rule only prevents foreigners commercial harvest of conch.
My group has certainly enjoyed the conch fried rice and conch soup cooked by my wife many times. While snorkeling and fishing with a Hawaiian cable car or fishing rod is hard workOur teenage son (later to become Co-Captain) fully provided for us shrimp and fish. On the other hand, catching conch is very easy, all one needs to do is dive through the shallow bottom, keep an eye out for conch, which are often camouflaged with seaweed on their back, and pick them up.
It is unknown how many conch are harvested in the Bahamas each year, as most of them are consumed locally or sold arbitrarily. But data from the Bahamian government shows that in 2018/2019 to 2020, export Conch meat totaling more than half a million pounds is valued at nearly $5 million.
The Bahamas government, concerned by recent scientific studies, has committed to ending conch exports as early as 2019 and enacting stricter conch harvesting regulations. A press release stated:
Agriculture Secretary Michael Pintard yesterday advised that there will be a ban on conch exports from the Bahamas by 2022.
“…We have also informed the public, met with the exporters and said that we are ending conch exports and we have had for the past two years, entering our third year, tapering off. conch quota.”
“By 2022, there will be no exports of conch from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and tourists can no longer harvest conch in Bahamian waters and consume.”
“It won’t be part of the pocket or marine resources they can catch in Bahamian waters.”
What are the current regulations as of today?
If you have ever visited the Bahamas and searched for information on official rules and regulations, you will understand that spotting the situation today is not easy. Although the Bahamians Minister of Agriculture said in 2020 that “[by 2022] tourists can no longer harvest conch in the Bahamian Sea and consume.” Current advice for foreign boaters still allows conch consumption, and tourists are allowed to return to the United States with up to 10 pounds of conch meat.
I emailed an expert on this last week, Martha H. Davisa scientist with community conch which researches and advocates for the restoration of conch colonies in the Bahamas and a same author above The study made a lot of noise. Here is her answer:
“As of May 2022, we were informed that conch exports have now ended but because exporters and fishermen want it. [ meaning not ended by government regulation.] Closing an export is part of a draft fisheries registry and would not be illegal unless it passed that process. There is no schedule for the approval of the draft Fisheries Resources Regulation and our contacts at the Department of Marine Resources do not know what will happen.”
Situation?… promises and intentions to some extent but no laws have been changed and no new laws have been implemented. Note that fisheries enforcement is generally a difficult problem in the Bahamas with so many remote islands and very few enforcement personnel.
Simultaneously, This news item is published in October 2022:
“FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA — For the first time in three years, residents and visitors gathered at McClean’s Town East Grand Bahama earlier this month to celebrate the 50th annual Conch Carving Festival organized by the Department of Tourism, Investment and Aviation (MOTIA) thematic co-sponsor, “50 years and still cracked!”
“The conch-centric event is an annual hometown festival that started in 1972, where locals and visitors alike compete in a friendly competition to win a specially designed conch trophy. real. The goal of the competition is to get and clean as many conch as possible as quickly as possible.”
NOAA Fishery’s attempt to list Queen Conch under the ESA is consistent with Statement from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service:
“While ESA’s bans on listed species only apply to those under U.S. jurisdiction, ESA can generate conservation benefits such as raising awareness about listed species. , research effort to address conservation needs or fund the in-situ conservation of species within its national boundaries. The ESA also provides limited financial support to develop and manage programs to conserve listed species abroad, encourages programs to conserve such species, and enables support for programs, such as personnel and training.”
Like Queen Conch has been protected under CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]the further listing under the ESA appears to be just another attempt by the US federal agency to interfere in the affairs of other countries promoted by concerned scientists-activists from the United States.
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Author’s comments and personal reflections:
Messy situation. There is no doubt that the conch fishery in the Bahamas has been and has been overfished (I suppose at least in the last century). There is tremendous pressure from outside conch-fishing countries and territories to limit conch harvesting and, in some cases, to end conch fishing altogether. In the Bahamas, however, conch is a national treasure, a way of life, and an iconic local dish. 400,000 Bahamians will not give up catching and eating conch, nor will islanders abandoned the harvesting of conch as a food source and as a cash crop to sell to the Nassau and Freeport population centers as well as the Bahamian tourist trade.
My son sailed through the Bahamas two years ago with a crew of five captains about 20 years old, having spent two weeks on one of the offshore islands waiting for perfect weather to run straight from the Bahamas to Puerto Rico. whole road (a rare weather condition). One day, a local fisherman invited him and his friends to go out to catch conch with them in a small shallow bay inside the reef. Young men, wearing masks and snorkels, clung to a rope pulled behind a small outboard motor-powered boat that stretched out the length of the rope. Every time a conch is found, they will drop down, swim down, pick up the snail and when they surface again, the boat will make a wide circle towards them, the snail will be thrown into the sailing boat. passing, and the child. will grab the rope again. The fisherman’s goal, in these few hours of catching conch, is to collect 200 conch. The fisherman was disappointed when the total catch in three hours was only 150 fish. Three o’clock, a small bay, 150 conch. Flush and repeat thousands upon thousands of times over hundreds of islands (700 islands and 2,400 sand dunes).
In our many travels through the Bahamas, both from north to south and south to north, we have never failed to harvest and eat conch and have never visited a restaurant without some conch dishes. in the menu. Nor have we ever visited an island without huge piles of discarded conch shells (see image at the beginning of the essay) – not even on uninhabited islands.
Ultimately, I think the Bahamian Queen’s conch fisheries are overfished, but suspect that this threatens the conch or causes extinction at present. I also believe that NOAA Fisheries is being pressured by activist scientists to force the United States to interfere in the internal affairs of the Bahamas.
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