Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2018 | Page 666

The Conch
The Queen Conch, or strombus giga, is found
naturally in the Atlantic, from the coast of Brazil
to Florida. An endangered animal, it is prohibited
to fish/gather conch in the United States. Queen
Conch are protected under the CITES Treaty,
and as such exporting the animal (or the shell)
requires a permit.
In the early 1990s, 16 Caribbean countries
exported conch to the United States. Today, only
3 countries export conch to the United States (the
Turks and Caicos is one).
Conch is becoming endangered due to
overfishing. The Caicos Conch Farm on
Providenciales is the world’s only conch farm
(open for visitors), which used to supply conch for
the entire country and also for export.
Source: www.visittci.com
Photo Credit: James Willamor