It is not responsible to eat this species in the DR - it is not sustainable. Trade in the queen conch shells is limited by convention.
International trade in queen conch is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (
CITES) agreement, in which it is listed as
Strombus gigas. This species is not yet truly endangered in the Caribbean as a whole, but it is commercially threatened in numerous areas, largely due to extreme overfishing; the meat is an important food source for humans. The CITES regulations are designed to monitor and control the commercial export of the meat of this species as well as the shells (often sold to be used as decorative objects). Both of these trades were previously so prevalent that they represented serious threats to the survival of the species. However, the CITES Convention does not monitor or regulate any domestic use
Lobatus gigas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Queen Conch is illegally expeorted from DR - do not support conch fisherman!
Of the 28 queen conch range countries, the Dominican Republic and Honduras were the largest exporters of queen conch; the Significant Trade Review identified them as two of the three countries of "urgent concern" (the other was Haiti). There were 13 countries listed of "possible concern," and the remaining 12 countries included in the review were determined to be "not of concern." The Significant Trade review recommended against accepting imports from the three countries of "urgent concern" until they were found to be in full compliance with CITES. Honduras eventually set a quota for exports and was found to be in compliance with the CITES Significant Trade recommendations. The Dominican Republic decided to suspend international trade until research activities and an updated fisheries management plan are completed. Other countries in the region have taken considerable steps to ensure that harvest and export of queen conch are sustainable. The queen conch?s Appendix-II listing has provided motivation and resources for local and regional efforts towards sustainable trade of the species.
Endangered Species Program | News | Bulletins | Summer 2009
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