Status of the queen conch

fishery in Barbados

National Summary ReportHazel A. Oxenford1 & Stephen Willoughby2

1 CERMES

University of the West Indies

Cave Hill, Barbados

CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM Queen Conch Working Group MeetingPanama City, 23-25 October, 2012

2 Fisheries Division Ministry of Agriculture

Government of Barbados

• Minor and largely unknown fishery

• Has a very long history

Fishery description

Barbados

• Conch fishers harvest other species on same trips

• Majority of conch fishers fish seasonally (in summer months)

• Trips generally 4-5 hrs

• Trip frequency unpredictable

Fishery description

• Approx. 50 conch fishers (186 in fisher database)

• Unknown number of recreational fisher/divers

• Majority are free divers

• Majority fish from a boat

• Small open motorized boats

Fishers SCUBA

Free dive76%

8% 16%

Boat

Swim

12%

64%

24%

• > 45 fishing grounds

• Most 7-12 m deep

• A few SCUBA grounds 17-33 m deep

• Greatest activity on SE coast

Fishing grounds

• Harvested for meat & shells

• Meat sells for between US$ 4 - 8 / lb

• Sold to private customers & restaurants

• NO EXPORT

• High proportion of immature conch landed (71 % of catch)

• Crude conservative estimate of harvest is 3,000 - 6,000 conch a year (approx. 0.5-1.5 mt)

Consumption & trade: meat

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Shell length (cm)

Fre

qu

en

cyImmature

Mature

Size and maturity of shells harvested

• Approx. 20 shell vendors marketing significant numbers of local conch

• Sell from temporary stalls at fixed locations

• Conch shells sell for between US$ 1 – 40

• Majority are sold to tourists

• Personal export allowance of 3 shells without permit

Consumption & trade: shells

International

• CITES

• SPAW protocol

• UNCLOS

• CBD

• Supports FAO Code of Conduct

• Member of CRFM Conch and Lobster Working Group

Policy & Legislation Local

• International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Act (2006)o Export permit required

o Personal allowance 3 shells

• The Fisheries Act 1993o Provision for management

schemes

• Fisheries (Management) Regulations (1998)o None specific to conch

o Remains open access

o Currently under revision

• Fisheries Division has produced conch leafleto CITES trade regulations

o Encouraging harvesters to leave juveniles

• Conch stakeholder meetingo Information exchange

o Research validation

• Draft conch management plano Follows FAO (2007) template

Management & Conservation

Abundance survey

• Summer 2007 / 2008

• Circular transects (314 m2)

• 38 hectares surveyed across 65 sites

• Conch fisher and research SCUBA divers Shallow shelf survey

(3 – 15 m)

Data collection & research

2.5 0.0 2.5 5.0

km1:152,820

North

0 conch/ha

1-5 conch/ha

6-15 conch/ha

16-50 conch/ha

> 50 conch/ha

15m contour

surveyed area

0 conch/ha

1-5 conch/ha

6-15 conch/ha

16-50 conch/ha

> 50 conch/ha

15m contour

0 conch/ha

1-5 conch/ha

6-15 conch/ha

16-50 conch/ha

50 conch/ha

15 m depth

Conch density

Data collection & research

Survey results• Patchy distribution•Low density of adults•Size-related habitat preferences

South coast

West coast

Survey circles

599 611

% circles no conch

85 89

ALL(conch ha-1)

14.4 4.3

ADULT(conch ha-1)

1.1 1.7

Data collection & research

Survey results•S coast approx. 43,000 conch•W coast approx 8,300 conch•> 79% juveniles

Population size structure

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Fre

qu

en

cy

Shell length (cm)

N = 476 conch

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Freq

uenc

y

Shell length (cm)

N = 137 conch

juveniles

adultsS

W

Data collection & research

Movement patterns•Observed individuals in an aggregation for 1 yr

•Aggregation home range 15 hectares with ‘favourite areas’

•No ‘en masse’ migration or burial of aggregation

•Individuals move slightly deeper in cooler months

•Individuals move faster and further in warmer months

High use areas

Aggregation home range

Data collection & research

Reproduction•Active April – December

•Smallest size at first maturity 3 mm lip thickness (LT)

•50% mature 19.5 mm LT

Observation

Histological examination

n= 149

n= 84

n= 84

n= 149

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

n= 84

n= 84

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Total shell length (cm)

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Lip thickness (mm)

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

0102030405060708090

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

a)

% F

requ

ency

Lip thickness (mm)

% fr

eque

ncy Gametogenesis

Ripe

Spent

Issues of concern

• Low density of conch

• Rarity of mature adults

• High proportion of juveniles in catch

• Breeding aggregations not protected

• Fisher livelihoods at risk

• High cost of monitoring & management

Final Considerations

Follow-up

• Establish a conch fisher association

• Restrict access to fishery

• Encourage stakeholder engagement in monitoring & management decisions

• Strengthen legislation in support of management

• Support continued research

Thanks for your attention!

Acknowledgements:Government of BarbadosUniversity of the West IndiesCINVESTAV, MexicoConch fishersResearch divers UWI students: Colvin Taylor, Damien Catlyn, Caroline BissadaColleagues: Angela Fields, Dalila Aldana, Liliane Frenkiel, Henri

Valles