Dear John,
 
In the early 80's there was some research being down on conch pearl farming
at the Trade Wind Industries Conch Farm in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I
believe the company is still in business. As far as I know this farm is the
only facility that has attempted to raise conch commercially, though there
are research hatcheries scattered throughout the wider Caribbean region.
The biggest stumbling block to hatch-and-release efforts is the enormous
loss of reared animals due to predation. A host of benthic predators feed
on conch from the moment they settle out of the water column, and conch
don't reach any sort of size refuge until about 75 mm in shell length.
 
Under the direction of Dr. Allan Stoner, our Benthic Ecology Program at the
Caribbean Marine Research Center has done extensive research on several
aspects of queen conch ecology -- distribution of larvae, juveniles, and
adults; recruitment; predation; larval biology; shell morphology; hatchery
vs wild survivorship, etc. If you'd like some reprints, please let me know.
 
Sincerely,
Melody Ray-Culp
[log in to unmask]
 
 
 
 
 
As a new member of this list I feel that my questions might be simple, but I
have to start somewhere. For three years I lived in Belize C.A. and while
there joined a village fisheries co-op. We fished for "Florida Crayfish" or
lobsters and Conch. From time to time we would come up with conch pearls. As
I get older my curiosity has lead me to question how these formed. I have
read about culturing pearls in the various oysters, but have seen nothing
about the other mollusks.
My questions for now are:
What is the latin name for the Queen Conch?
Where does the pearl form?
Are they being farm raised anywhere?
Where would I get a cutaway view of the Queen Conch?
 
Thank you
John R. Berry