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.
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
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