Honk If You Love Conch

As I write this, I'm enjoying a lunch of conch fritters. The conch bits inside are chunky, sweet, and absolutely delicious. Normally I would feel guilty about this meal. So why am I chowing on conch with impunity? Read on and find out.

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) was once incredibly common throughout the Caribbean basin. But over harvesting of the species has made conch a very dear commodity. Market prices can be staggering for conch salads, conch stew, and conch steaks

In 1992, Queen conch was placed on the CITES Appendix II List as a species that could be threatened with extinction unless trade in the species is restricted. Harvest of the species is strictly enforced. Each country has a slightly different season, but harvest is generally restricted to late fall through early spring months. This is not to say that poaching or other illegal harvesting does not occur, but with limited resources for monitoring and enforcement, a lot of conch can still enter the market illegally making the industry difficult to manage sustainably.

Enter Chuck Hesse, founder, chairman, and visionary behind the Caicos Conch Farm here in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). A graduate of Annapolis and former US Navy submarine officer, Hesse has been perfecting his conch aquaculture enterprise in TCI since 1984. His is the world's only Queen conch farm that raises this magnificent gastropod from veliger to adult snails.

His operation is something to behold. An impressive complex combining larval holding bins as well as settlement tanks, and open system juvenile and adult conch holding pens in the nearby bay. In the aerial shot I took below, you can see the network of holding tanks as well as the circular pens in the bay. As a result of his efforts in conch farming, harvest pressure can be relieved from wild Queen conch stock allowing the resident populations to recover. His operation also means a more regular supply of conch meat throughout the year as well as a more stable cost to local consumers.

Hesse "gets it" when it comes to the connection between ecology and economy. A quote from his website says it best, “All our work is built on the concept that conservation is good for business. So the business has to work for the conservation to work.”

He also believes in the principle of waste not, want not. It's not just the conch meat that gets utilized in his operation. Discarded shells are beautiful and can be made available to both shell collectors as well as for ornamental use such as button or even unique key chain fobs such as the one I received at the tourism conference I'm attending here on TCI.

One unfortunate aspect of Hesse's operation is that one of his farms is located just a few hundred meters away from the ill-conceived Star Island dredging project here on TCI. This project plans to build a Dubai-style artificial island in the middle of the bay which also happens to serve as the primary seawater circulation for the Caicos Conch Farm. Conch require clear seawater for survival. Sediment clouds and increased turbidity from sand dredging can be a death sentence for conch and other marine life (especially corals) that require clear water for filter feeding or photosynthesis.

With more public awareness of the incredible results from the Caicos Conch Farm (as well as some much-needed public outcry against the threats from unnecessary development projects such as Star Island) Hesse may be able to continue to develop his conch farming operations not only on TCI but throughout the wider Caribbean as well. Conch today! Conch tomorrow!