Just picked up a queen conch. Now I find they are on CITES II. WTF?

[ewurm]

First thing that came up on a search was USFW page stating they are threatened and on CITES II. Mine looks exactly like this photo I found on the web. I was researching because I noticed it has a stinger. Please shed some light. (Activates Zoodiver beacon)

Here is the page to USFW

http://www.fws.gov/international/queen conch/queen conch.html

 

[ewurm]

Bump for info

 

[sncboom]

Too many horns being made?

 

[ewurm]

After discussing with the person doing orders, it appears that these are captive bred specimens. It looked like they have a stinger. Anyone know whether they can inflict damage?

 

[water_baby83]

After discussing with the person doing orders, it appears that these are captive bred specimens. It looked like they have a stinger. Anyone know whether they can inflict damage?

LOL ok so I am not "zoodiver", but if you want I can fill ya in on some info.

Yes they are listed on CITES, you can find them under apendix II. There is an import suspension in place due to the number decline, and certain coutries like the Dominican Republic and Honduras have agreed to suspend any and all international trade of them, and in other areas such as Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad and more have had these restrictions on trade for years now. If it was captive bred and the previous owner/dealer/whatever has documentation that it was, and also that the "mother" was also a captive bred upon his purchase, or can furnish proper documentation permitting his possesion of one which was not, you should have nothing to worry about. And if you truely do have a queen conch, then no, the horror stories you hear are more than likely from other species such as carnivorous whelks. This species feeds mainly on sea grasses and algae. One (there are several) way however, of determining whether you have a real conch or not is simple - When the animal extends from its shell, look closely at its eyes. The eyes will be obvious, and are at the end of a long stalk, showing clearly an eyeball with a visible pupil. In the predatory whelks the eyes are typically just a small black dot with no discernable structure and are located at the base of the tentacles coming off the top of the head. I really dont think you have anything to worry about.

(NOAA)The CITES embargo restrictions on Honduras, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic will be lifted when the countries have taken the following actions:

• Identified areas to be designated for commercial fisheries;
• Undertaken density studies in these designated areas;
• Identified and analyzed trends in available landing data;
• Established a standardized minimum meat weight that corresponds to adult specimens of unprocessed and processed meat; and
• Analyzed, based on the results of the density studies, landing trends and standardized meat weight to establish cautious catch and export quotas in consultation with the CITES Secretariat.

 

[ewurm]

These are apparently captive bred in Florida, and I did notice that one box from the shipment (not sure if this was the box that these came in) had a CITES inspection sticker, first time I've seen that. Thanks for the info, WB.

 

[Sampson]

The export of the queen conch is restricted from St. Lucia.
Even tourists taking the empty shells home are offically restricted, however they tend to find this out when they go through customs in their home country.
The local consumption of conch meat is now considered to be at the point of endangering the future local viability of the creature.
Some islands do export but only after the animal has attained a certain size.
yes it tastes great and is locally regarded as a lovemaking enhancer along the lines of viagra ( or so I am told )

 

[ewurm]

It's sad to hear they are being wiped out in your area. One of the reasons I brought it up.

 

[fugupuff]

ORA is a big producer of such animal in Florida, and that's most likely where it came from, and they're 100% legal in that way. So no need to worry They'll grow huge if enough algae to eat!

 

[armac]

very good for conch fritters