conch

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has officially declared March 1, 2022 as the opening of the conch season.

The commencement of the season will be done under strict guidelines which aim to protect the conch fisheries while enabling the continuation of economic activity centred on the harvesting of the seafood.

The special conditions applicable to the 2022 conch fishing season include a total catch of 300 metric tonnes for industrial fishers and 50 metric tonnes for artisanal fishers.

 Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing of Queen Conch has been identified as one of the most significantly affected areas by IUU with an estimated loss of US$284 million over the past 20 years.

This has also resulted in the decline of Jamaica’s queen conch population, which led to a two-year closure of the fishery at Pedro Bank, contributing to annual losses of approximately US$6 million in direct export earnings and loss of jobs for approximately 5,500 Jamaicans.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon Audley Shaw, today (March12, 2019) outlined several measures to curb illegal fishing in Jamaican waters at a media briefing on the conch industry at his Hope Gardens offices.
Outlining the reason for the extended March 1 2019 to January 31 2020 close season for the conch fishery, Minister Shaw said this was necessary because of the current depletion of Jamaica’s valuable queen conch stocks.