Conch–The Magnificent Mollusk

/ Stella Maris & Flying Fish
This Eleuthera queen conch tolerated a peek under her petticoat to show her bright orange mantle where she sometimes hides a conch pearl. Photograph © Jeffrey Cardenas

In the Bahamas, it is often about what’s for dinner. Conch fritters, conch salad, conch chowder, cracked conch.

But today, near a nursery of wild baby conch, we swim among the queens and there are no thoughts of putting them on a supper plate. Seeing these threatened creatures thrive in a natural environment of crystal-clear water is reassuring. 

A queen conch in full camouflage
“You lookin’ at me?”

Queen conch had been collected at a sustainable level by local subsistence fishers for centuries. But beginning in the 1970s, according to research by the Shedd Aquarium, increasing commercial fishing has caused conch populations to decline or collapse in much of the species’ range, including the Bahamas.

If the conch fishery collapses, it could put more than 9,000 Bahamian fishers—two percent of the country’s small population—out of work, according to a National Geographic report. Nearly all exported Bahamian conch meat is shipped to the U.S. In 2015, about 400 metric tons of conch were caught in the Bahamas, and about half of that was exported to the U.S., which prohibited the taking of conch in the mid-1980s.

A limit of six queen conch in possession aboard a foreign-registered vessel is the limit in the Bahamas. That is a privilege. Queen conch is a delicacy.

But today, in Eluthera, they look better to me alive than they would in a frying pan.

The next generation of queen conch

Thanks for sailing along with Stella Maris.

As always, sailing is not just about the wind and the sea; equally important are the places, the flora, fauna, and people encountered along the way.

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Text and Photography © Jeffrey Cardenas 2023

“Let this be a time of grace and peace in our lives”   – Fr. John Baker

12 thoughts on “Conch–The Magnificent Mollusk”

  2. Snorkeled the Conch flats in Bimini as a young man. Took my share I will admit. Looking back typical uninformed behavior I now regret. I pray the conch population survives . Amazing creatures for sure. Keep up the good work Jeffery my friend!

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    • There was a time, too, when I thought conch, both in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, was an unlimited resource. I’m not proud to say I sometimes took more than I could eat because harvesting was so easy. I agree with the no-take regulations in Florida because since they were enacted I have seen the Keys conch population rebounding. And I think the Bahamians are wise to be increasing the restrictions on foreign fishermen.
      Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Jim.

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  5. Hi Jeffrey, Great to read about your new vessel. Very cool. I hope big bones and even a permit or two are in your Bahama future. Several years back while riding a bike around Abaco each evening (after fishing) I would find piles of conch shells here and there. One day on a backroad I saw an older Ford Ranger with the bed filled with conches and three men harvesting them. After reading your story, it makes me now wonder if what I saw was even legal. Anyway, take care. Best, Dan Dan Shepherd, Senior Travel Advisor WILD ON THE FLY – Fly Fishing Adventure Travel dan@wildonthefly.co kienes@wildonthefly.comm 406-493-5994 “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do, than by the things you did do. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – MARK TWAIN

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