A. Species
Scientific name: Strombus gigas
Common name(s): Queen Conch
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: St. Vincent and the Grenadines
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2022
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from a suitable habitat but not its own natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Targeted fishing harvesting/exploiting or collecting wild aquatic resources
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Decorative and aesthetic and Monetary
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from a suitable habitat but not its own natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES Livelihood Case Study findings
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The “Blue Biotrade” project has resulted in enhanced application of sustainability principles and greater investments in local stock assessments. In addition, with importation being rampant, many of the
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES Livelihood Case Study Findings
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not only do they make multiple foods out of the conch meat, such as fritters, burgers, and chowder, but they also use the operculum (the horny “nail” or “foot”) and pearls which, while rare, are extremely valuable at US$ 2000 each. The resources generates money for the community
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: While the record
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Regulating climate change Continued partnerships and importation from other conch markets Development of simple NDF methods
Record source
Information about the record source: formal_data_stats
Date of publication/issue/production: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Alexander Girvan, Edited by Dilys Roe
Date of record entry: 2024-07-10