#Bahamas, December 19, 2017 – Nassau – The Bahamian conch is in grave danger and while there is dispute on how much danger the mollusk is facing when it comes to its population; there is no doubt that something must be done to save the Bahamian conch and the conch fishing industry. An InterAmerican Development Bank report says that declines are at 80% and that one way to stem the drastic drop in conchs is to cut back on exportation.
The Bahamas Commercial Fisheries Alliance, BCFA said that suggestion was made before by their organization and he disputes that the decline in conchs is as high as 80%. The IDB report supports a half a million dollar project, to be spearheaded by the Bahamas National Trust, which is to unravel in the Family Islands. The report also said that significant number of families are impacted by the fall in conch numbers; this impacts food security and the economy – in fact the IDB says fishing for conch has now become unviable, ie, a waste of time for 9,000 fisherman.
It is a staggering analysis which Adrian LaRoda, President of the BCFA explained is mainly caused by foreign poachers and increased coastal development. Tribune Business carries the story where the IDB report outlines that “Densities in the Bahamas have dropped since the 1980s from 50 per hectare to 10 per hectare, a density too low to sustain reproduction. Low queen conch densities observed at several Family Islands such as Andros Island suggest that queen conch fishing is no longer viable in some locations.”
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