I was on the water yesterday and stopped to see one of the regular fishermen in the Tres Cocos area. He had a boat full of horse conch and was under the assumption that it was OK to harvest it, even betting me that it was OK.
Pretty sure that there is no distinction between species and that the law is inclusive. No conch between July 1 to September 30. Am I missing something about the classification or was this guy misinformed?
Why not call Hol Chan or Fisheries and ask the people who know for sure?
Only the queen conch that is regulated.
Tomorrow the season opens for Queen Conch (Strombus G.), the regulated one.
the Horse and Helmut aren't mentioned in the literature they distribute. I'm guessing its OK but you would need a fishing license.
strange wording i don't understand completely, 'No fisherman shall have in possession diced conch meat at sea except for market clean conch except by special permit' ????
Isn't it September 30 for conch season?
The reason for no diced conch meat at sea is because fishermen can harvest undersized conch and hide this fact by having the flesh diced. I see mounds of undersized conchs laying on the beach on the "true" northend, in a year round conch no take zone. Saw some fishermen just this morning...
Needless to say I don't eat conch anymore.
I've been watching for years and concluded the undersized and out of season harvesting is largely from construction workers living on the sites along the North Eastern Coast. Contractors have the workers live on the site rather than transport them back and forth daily so the workers fish for food.
I wish we had the resources to police this but hea isn't that the same old problem.
Elbert,
Sadly I believe you are right about the workers. We had to threaten our crew not to take in these waters and make sure they had enough food. There are also resorts and tour guides who turn a blind eye to their staff or guests taking out of season or undersized as well. Education and even enforcement of existing laws might help this on going problem. I would hate to see the conch fisheries go the way on abalone.
"Sport harvesting of red abalone is permitted with a California fishing license and an abalone stamp card. New in 2008, the abalone card also comes with a set of 24 tags. Legal-size abalone must be tagged immediately. Abalone may only be taken using breath-hold techniques or shorepicking; scuba diving for abalone is strictly prohibited. Taking of abalone is not permitted south of the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. There is a size minimum of seven inches (178 mm) measured across the shell and a quantity limit of three per day and 24 per year. A person may be in possession of only three abalone at any given time. Abalone may only be taken from April to November, not including July. Transportation of abalone may only legally occur while the abalone is still attached in the shell. Sale of sport-obtained abalone is illegal, including the shell. Only red abalone may be taken; black, white, pink, and flat abalone are protected by law."