Feds to Consider Queen Conch for Listing

Marine Animal Threatened by Human Consumption, Pollution, Habitat Degradation

Washington, D.C. – The National Marine Fisheries Service (Fisheries) announced today that it will review the queen conch (Strombus gigas) for potential listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition to list the conch on March 1, 2012. Fisheries’ announcement today begins a 12-month status review for the species. 

The queen conch is a large mollusk with a distinctive spiral shell with blunt spikes and a pearly pink or orange interior. The species can grow to 12 inches in shell-length and weigh up to 5 pounds. The species occurs throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, from Bermuda and Florida in the northern extent of its range to Brazil in the south. Conch are prized for their meat and their large, flared shells, and are commercially harvested in 25 countries. The United States is the largest importer of queen conch, importing approximately 78 percent of the queen conch meat in international trade (about 2,000 - 2,500 tons annually).

 “Queen conch are worth more than a fleeting ‘gourmet’ experience,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “If we don’t curb our appetite for these animals, they will vanish forever. Letting that happen would be the height of irresponsibility.”

Queen conch have already been so heavily exploited in many areas that a viable fishery no longer exists, yet the population continues to be steadily depleted. Listing the queen conch under the ESA would provide essential protection for this species by restricting U.S. take and import. 

Queen conch are found primarily in seagrass beds, which are important ecosystems that provide food, shelter, and nursery grounds to myriad fish and invertebrate species. Seagrasses, highly sensitive to water quality, are key indicator species reflecting the health of coastal ecosystems. Some researchers have compared seagrass beds to tropical rainforests based on their high productivity, structural complexity, and biodiversity. Queen conch play a vital role in shaping these communities, principally by consuming seagrass detritus (dead and decomposing seagrass). The loss or substantial decrease of queen conch may cause significant, harmful changes in the ecosystem.


 

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