Conch Prohibition

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

You haven't been to the Basin.

Thought that as I wrote it, that I had no idea how big they get really....

The only crawfish from LA I've had were shrimp-sized, dumped on tables for a party. Good enough, but nothing to write home about for many non-natives

How big do they get? I had sorta dismissed them since the natives talked about sucking on them rather than having much meat to speak of...

[Piglet]

Originally Posted by cheoah

That's what we call Caribbean spiny lobsta. much bigger than your crawfish...

Ah. That makes more sense.

[scajax]

VERY CONFUSING.........at the beginning of the regulation you can have 10 conch.......at the end you can have none ........uniquely BAHAMIAN

[zeehag]

similar to the fine print in mexican fish licenses....

[cheoah]

I'm a native of Grand Bahama and I too found the regs confusing, but as of January, still legal to take 6. See letter below dated January of this year:

I refer to your e-mail of 26th January, 2013 on the above subject matter.

Please be advised that all foreign owned vessels engaging in any fishing in The Bahamas must first obtain a sportfishing permit from a Bahamian border official at a Bahamian port of entry.

Your allowable quota for conch is six (6) conch per vessel at any one time. You may export the allowable quota on your vessel.

All harvested conch must have a well formed flaring lip indicating adult sizes. The undersized conch must not be harvested in The Bahamas.

-per Dept Marine Resources

[tamicatana]

Originally Posted by cheoah

How big do they get?

I was making a joke, but they can get 6-8 inches. nothing like a lobster though

[zboss]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

That gives me something to look for during my second circumnavigation. Because on my first I never saw any ritual killers....



Mark

Beware... be VERY beware !

[MTLandlocked]

Would a closed 3 month season around breeding time help much?

[gettinthere]

Enforcing the maturity restriction would help. Lots of juveniles getting harvested for the restaurants

[Brogan007]

You want to take a look at Bonaire....the island that sells it's pro-conservation ideals ...yet has almost exterminated the conch thru locals harvesting them for years. Piles of shells as high as houses...evidence for all to see. Now the shells that are being brought in are so small they can fit in your palm. Such stupid people.

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Conch eat algae that suffocates coral... so more conch is vital.

It sickens me the piles of conch shells near many tourist resturants and beachs.

They have raped their own environment to stuff the bellies of people who wouldnt know the difference.

If you want to look at the devestation cause go to Georgetown and look at the algae infested blue hole lagoons on Stocking Island.

Its only when the locals stop fishing it will there be a difference.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by cheoah

That's what we call Caribbean spiny lobsta. much bigger than your crawfish...

But, not nearly as tasty!

[the_alpine]

The most glaring thing I noticed in the Bahamas had me constantly asking "How are the conchs still surviving!?"

The locals would have them stacked on their foredecks in piles at least 15' high. And the islands were loaded with so many cracked shells it seemed they were made of them!

[mbianka]

Would be a shame to have the Conch disappear. I only have it once a year at most usually when doing a charter in the Bahamas. Saw some were attempting to farm them on one of the islands several years ago. Don't recall which island it was. Might not have even been the Bahamas though.

[s/v Beth]

Last time I was there it was already illegal to import Conch to the USA. I'm for a complete ban- look what it has done for the Jewfish along Florida waters. As for the Bahamas they do need to get the local population to go along or nothing will change. Eat Lionfish instead. Maybe they could call it Tourist Salmon.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Last time I was there it was already illegal to import Conch to the USA. I'm for a complete ban- look what it has done for the Jewfish along Florida waters. As for the Bahamas they do need to get the local population to go along or nothing will change. Eat Lionfish instead. Maybe they could call it Tourist Salmon.

Or what happened with Rockfish in the Chesapeake when they banned taking them for a few years. They reproduced so fast, and in such large numbers, they almost decimated the crab population before they started harvesting them again.

Nothing renews an overfished species like a total ban for a few years. If the Bahamas wants to preserve conch, and get the levels back to what they were fifty years ago, that's all it would take.