Conch ban effective in improving catch quality – vendors

SOME FISH vendors are reporting an improvement in the quality and quantity of the delicacy craved by mostly men for the just-concluded five-month conch harvesting season.

This improvement has been attributed to the two-year ban that was imposed by the Government, ahead of the harvesting season which ended on August 1.

The two-year ban was imposed in 2019 and lifted on February 28 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in a bid to protect and improve the conch stock as well as habitats, to create a sustainable conch industry.

Additionally, zones demarcated as prohibited areas for the fishing of queen conch were put in place. This included areas within the Pedro Banks, east of Southwest Cay (Bird Cay).

Two fish vendors from the Greenwich Town Fishing Village in Kingston told The Gleaner on Tuesday that the catch quality of the mud conch and broad leaf conch has improved, when compared to the period prior to the imposition of the two-year ban.

“Since the ban, I think it worked wonders. We saw much more conch coming in, better quality conch. We as artisanal fishers, we catch our conch around the [Kingston] harbour, which we supply to household persons. We don’t do it in a vast quantity, so, straight on, we had more conch coming in,” said Novelette Mighty, president of the benevolent society at the Greenwich Town Fishing Village. She is one of two fish vendors at the location

“Better quality conch, meaning them more fuller, dem bigger, dem look more fatter. Dem no wishy washy. Dem look more healthier, so we support the ban,” she continued.

Despite the improvement, Mighty believes that the two-year ban is excessive. She suggested six months instead, as this is enough time to replenish the tropical marine mollusc with a robust spiral shell.

She, however, expressed appreciation for the fact that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, always informs fishers of the ban periods in advance.

Allan Walker, a former fisherman and now fish vendor, supported Mighty’s suggestion for a six-month ban. He said this would result in less disruption to the high-demand market driven mostly by male customers seeking to boost their libido and ego.

“Man dem buy it for dem fertility. Very few ladies buy it. If I have bout 50 pound a conch, mi might have maybe one woman customer who come [to buy conch],” Walker told The Gleaner.

He, too, was pleased with the size of the catch during the just-ended harvesting season.

Conch was being sold for $600 per pound by these vendors.

The closed conch season spans August 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023. No conch should be caught during this period.

Offenders can be arrested and charged up to $3 million or two years imprisonment for breaches.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the Negril Area Environmental Protection Trust appealed to fishers in its division to stop catching conch.

“The conch season is now closed. Food establishment operators who are in possession of conch or its products are asked to submit declarations to the National Fisheries Authority outlining location, quantity and level of processing of the conch in their possession by August 7,” the tweet stated.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com