CONCERNS have been raised over the Bahamas’ exportation of conch into the United States after a petition for the marine resource to be registered as a “endangered species” was submitted to the US Secretary of Commerce by a non-profit environmental organisation.
Marine Resources Director Michael Braynen admitted to The Tribune that the future of conch being traded internationally is “not bright at all.”
“This is only one of many efforts that have been made, with the future without doubt being that the end of the international trade of conch is on the horizon,” he said.
In the petition, submitted by Wild Earth Guardians, the queen conch is being threatened mainly by water pollution and the degradation of seagrass beds, overutilization for commercial purposes, and the lack of regulatory mechanisms to manage the unsustainable harvest or widespread practice of illegal fishing.
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