Jenny Scarboro wrote:
>
> It bears reminding that Strombus gigas is listed in CITES (the treaty of
> which the US is a signatory, along with 100+ other nations; for those who
> might not be familiar with the term, CITES is the Convention In Trade of
> Endangered Species).
>
> Strombus gigas, as well as Genus Tridacna, is protected from collection
> under CITES.  Anyone attempting to bring S. gigas or its byproducts into
> the U.S. without a license is violating the treaty, risking a stiff fine
> from Fish and Wildlife.
>
> I know it's strange that native folk can leave heaps of discarded conch
> shells on the beach while collectors can't legally take even one.  However,
> it's the law virtually worldwide, regardless of local regulations.  I would
> not recommend bringing Strombus gigas home.
>
> Jenny
>
> > We had contradictory reports about whether shelling was allowed. In fact
> > there are several marine reserves where shelling is completely forbidden.
> > We went to the South near Plasencia where there was a huge sandy beach,
> we
> > were outside protected areas. There were some regulations, however,
> > regarding season and size to collect specific species (e.g. Strombus
> > gigas). There was no check at the airport on leaving the country.
> >
>  People kept telling us that there were no shells anymore in
> > Belize. In fact there were a lot of Strombus gigas which are collected by
> > local fishermen as they are eaten and prepared in various culinary ways.
> > You keep finding small atolls heaped with shells of Strombus gigas that
> > fishermen discarded after drilling a hole and taking the meat out.
 
When in the Bahamas, especially around Nassau, you'll see the piles
everywhere and all through the cities ( even here in Miami) the meat is
all too available and under $6.00 US a pound.  When you snorkle in the
right places you'll see they are coming back nicely around southern
florida. A recent report from a Strombus gigas hatchery in Key West
states that the population is doing so well that they may be off the
endangered list in the US anyway in a few years.  They release the
"rollers" at about 4mm length and tag many of them.  All the scientists
were very excited. I personally was a little concerned while snorkeling
around Key West this last weekend we saw so many dead and fresh dead
Strombus species, especially gigas but we felt better after we began to
see many live ones going about their business.  Nice place to go and
some good locals to take you around.