Optimism Around Action Plan for the Queen Conch Industry in the Eastern Caribbean

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, (OECS), Dr. Didacus Jules has expressed optimism about a sustainable conch industry that will help to sustain livelihoods and preserve this the resource for future generations in the sub-region.

The trade in conch has been estimated at EC$68 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), with data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) noting that between 1992 and 2001, an estimated 21.61 million pounds of conch was exported from the region.

Conch takes four to five years to reach reproduction age and hatcheries provide a safe environment for them to grow and reproduce.

The workshop was organized under the pilot project, “Seizing the trade and business potential of Blue BioTrade products for promoting sustainable livelihoods and conservation of marine biodiversity in selected Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Countries”.

Jules discussed the creation of a hatchery on Union Island, noting that such a facility would be of critical importance to the sustainability of the conch industry, adding that all supporting architecture – legal, scientific and financial, must be put in place to allow the industry to grow organically.

A statement issued by the St. Lucia-based OECS Commission said the main results and agreements from the discussion include sub-regional development of management measures based upon the best available science

It said project partners led by the OECS, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and CITES will work with national authorities, fishers and other key stakeholders to identify and secure conch management measures and build the necessary capacity and evidence needed to establish and implement conservation measures based upon the  best available science.

The workshop also agreed on the establishment of sub-regional queen conch nursery, adding that the project partners led by the OECS and in collaboration with national authorities will mobilize resources to establish a sub-regional queen conch nursery and hatchery within 12 months.

“This nursery and hatchery will focus on supporting restorative aquaculture efforts, rebuilding queen conch stocks, enhancing scientific and technical capacity in aquaculture approaches, and providing alternative income sources to coastal communities. “

According to the OECS Commission the partners will work with national authorities and communities to mobilize resources for stock assessments as required by CITES to gather the necessary information and knowledge for the establishment of a total allowable catch, using a collaborative management approach.

It said this will be done in coordination and collaboration across project countries and aims to reduce the costs associated with these important studies.

The workshop also called for fair and equitable sharing of benefits with the partners agreeing to establish an export task force focused on enabling simplified trade mechanisms with high-demand export markets such as Martinique and other islands in the French Caribbean.

In addition, the Caribbean Regional Security System will be invited to incorporate the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as part of their mandate.

Regarding the socio economic sustainability of the project, the partners said they will work with national authorities, processors and producers of value-added products to document and explore current processing and use of by-products and best practices, which will then be disseminated along with capacity building activities that will be benefit the fishing community

“National authorities in collaboration with OECS, UNCTAD and CITES will formalize access to the conch fishery in project countries, through mapping of historical fishers, regularization and enforcement of a licensing and registration system, in a way that considers historical fishing access and traditional use and rights to ensure that coastal communities and subsistence producer continue to have access to the resources in a manner that does not prejudice traditional use rights,” the OECS Commission added.