Fishing_Queen conch_Colombia

Affiliation
IIED
Type of wild species covered by the record
Wild species used in its natural habitat
Stage of the value chain covered by the record
Entire value chain
Record Source
“Grey” literature (e.g., NGO reports, case studies, non-detriment studies; project documents etc. (not necessarily peer-reviewed))

Non-detrimental Findings For The Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) In Colombia.

Unknown/not recorded
Is the species endemic HIDE
No
Population Status
Unknown/not recorded
Formal international protection in place
International Level
National Level
Formal national protection in place

The Ministry of Environment included the spe- cies in a national red list, thus allocating funds to promote more sustainable management

Threats/Pressures impacting the conservation of the species
Population Trend
Unknown/not recorded
Sub-national Level
Unknown/not recorded
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Strombus gigas
Common Name(s)
Queen conch
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
The whole entire organism
Details of parts/products taken

Three different products are obtained from the queen conch fishery: the conch fillet, conch pearls and conch shells

Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?
Unknown/not recorded
Purpose of Use
Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)
Income generation from trade at individual or household or community
Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Additional Details (if available)

Conch pearls are considered jewelry, and therefore are by far the most valued of the conch products, while the conch shells are decorative pieces

What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?
Amount
6960.00
Units Of Measurement
conch pearls legally exported
Time period over which this has been recorded
2000-2008
What is the trend in the level of offtake within the period covered by this record?
Additional Details (if available)

The queen conch is legally harvested in Colombia by free diving. The use of any autonomous diving gear is prohibited. The fishing unit consists in one canoe and three fishermen, one operator and two divers

Provide Details of resource rights regime where relevant

According to the CITES national office (Vladimir Puentes, personal communication), the proportion of legal exports of conch fillet between en 2000 and 2004 totaled 571.5 mt and represented an annual increa- sed of 10%, with Miami and New York as the major destination (Figure 7). During the time of CITES export restriction imposed in Honduras and the Dominican Republic, it estimated that approximately 29.3 mt of illegally harvested queen conch was transshipped through Colombia, and in precaution a complete closure of the fishery was ordered in 2004, until better controls on illegal trade can be implemented.

Geographic Location
Country
Colombia
Sub region/state
San Andres Archipelago
Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)
National / local private sector
International private sector
If more than one box ticked, please provide more details

Conch fillet is the most commonly traded product in international markets, with approximately 90% of the harvest being exported. National consumption of the queen conch meat was estimated in 5% of national fish production (Gallo y Valderrama 1995), but most probably this percentage has increased since then.

Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
No
Contribution to GDP
Unknown/not recorded
Medicine/healthcare
Training/Skills
Land/Resource Rights
Decision Making
Social Cohesion
Conflict- people
Conflict- wildlife
Climate Change
Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?
Unknown/not recorded
Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Biological characteristics of target species
Absent
Source Reference(s)

Prada, M. et al. (n.d.) NDF Workshop Case Studies WG 9 – Aquatic Invertebrates: Non-detrimental Findings For The Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) In Colombia.

Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record
Who is involved in the use?
Is there any gender/age specificity in the various roles
Unknown/not recorded
How many of these local jobs accure to the following categories?
How many people outside the local area are employed
Is there any evidence of other economic benefits associated with this use beyond direct income and jobs
Unknown/Not recorded
Scale of Assessment
IUCN National Red List Category
IUCN Global Red List Category
Green Status Global Category
Yearly Financial Flows
No assessment recorded
No assessment has been recorded
Country reference