The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian fishermen said yesterday that while there was “concern” over a potential ban on Queen Conch exports to the US, domestic consumption should mitigate any shortfall.

The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) president, Adrian LaRoda, told Tribune Business that while a potential ban on sales to the US was an issue, Queen Conch was not a ‘major’ Bahamian fisheries product and made up possibly 10 per cent of total fisheries exports from this nation.

In 2012, Wild Earth Guardians, a non-profit environmental activist organisation, filed a petition in the US to list the Queen Conch under the Endangered Species Act.

Such a move would eliminate all conch trade between the Caribbean and the US, which currently imports more than 70 per cent of the remaining regional conch harvest - including some 600,000 pounds, worth roughly $3.3 million a year, from the Bahamas.

Earlier this week, Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, who is also responsible for trade and industry, voiced concern that Queen Conch exports could be threatened if the US declares them an endangered species, “creating significant social and economic hardship” for thousands of Bahamian and regional fishermen.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is expected to deliver a ruling on the issue this coming Monday.

“The Queen Conch has been listed by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) as being threatened for a number of years. It is a concern for us if the US government is going to ban it,” said Mr LaRoda.

“It does hamper our exports but, again, conch exports are not the major export for our fisheries. If they ban it then that would mean we would be losing possibly 10 per cent of our fisheries exports.

“The domestic consumption is always high and there really is very little record of what the domestic consumption of conch is. The domestic consumption is possibly within the million of pounds. I think that should take care of any shortfall that we would have in terms of exports.”

Mr LaRoda added: “Fishermen are taking the conservation efforts seriously. We don’t want to see an all-out ban. We don’t want to see a closed season here in the Bahamas, but we understand that there needs to be greater conservation of our resources. We are going to have to work with the conservation authority to see how best we can protect the resources.”