So it was announced by Fisheries that conch is going out of season 2 months early this year... As of April 24th. So no conch from April 24th - Oct 1st.

I'll miss the lil toughies, but glad theyre getting a break...

SFJeff....Thanks for the information.....Are you able to import from Guatemala? Or do you just do without.....?

by the time you'd get a import permit approved, it'll be back in season...

Be down in may say it is not soooooooooooooo

Jeff, I get your grief but it's a call and response thread ...the post opens with



the refrain is




from the Everly Bros little known hit "Bye Bye Conch..."

Given the decline in the conch population and given the rampant illegal taking of undersize conch, I'd say this is a good start.
In the end I'd like to see a much longer closed season to jump-start the regeneration ....... like full year or two.

Wondering if it is for all species. It would be really great if we had the conch hatchery as before. We need to get some of this going again. There may be other factors in the declining conch population.

Here's a few articles on the reduction in population of conch in Belize:

Lobster and Conch Fisheries of Belize: a History of Sequential Exploitation

Restoring Belize's Reef Ecosystem

OLDER DOCUMENTS:

The Status of the Conch Industry of Belize

Conch in Crisis

This is a good start. Education is sorely needed to let both the local population and visitors know when not to eat conch or take it from the waters. We have stopped eating conch and lobster after watching the rampant poaching in protected waters (Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve) of both undersized lobster and conch out of season. Weekly we see piles of undersized shells of conch littering the beach within the reserve. Left there by folks having a beach bbq for the day after having driven up to the north end of the island or brought in by tour boats. There was a group in by cart yesterday afternoon...

Easter Sunday my husband had to stop a young mainland Belizean while SMASHING a undersized conch on our dock. Watching were adults and children. We have never stopped the poaching in these waters before, but this was so awful, the conch would be uneatable because the shell was SMASHED into the flesh. When approached the adults turned away from my husband, ashamed. One little 9 year old San Pedrano was re-leaved by the back up from the grino. He agreed with not killing the conch by pleading with his mainland cousins "Please don't ruin our island."