status of queen conch fishery in st lucia
DESCRIPTION
STATUS OF QUEEN CONCH FISHERY IN ST LUCIA. Prepared by: Patricia Hubert- Medar and Sarita Williams Peter Presenter: Patricia Hubert- Medar. Panama City October 23-25. Agenda. Description of the national Queen Conch fishing industry Policy and Legislation Development Activities - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Prepared by: Patricia Hubert-Medar and Sarita Williams PeterPresenter: Patricia Hubert-Medar
Panama CityOctober 23-25
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Description of the national Queen Conch fishing industry
Policy and Legislation Development Activities Fisheries management and conservation activities Consumption and Trade Annual catch statistics research stock assessment Final Considerations
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single species nearshore fisheries • max. 5 miles; avg. 2.22 miles from shore• 11 – 43 m• SCUBA gear - three dives per trip - 100 – 500
conch landed /trip (2003)• fibreglass pirogues, 7.02 – 8.45 m, 115 – 250 hp
majority landed whole (live) and then sold immediately or retained for fish fry.
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Fisheries Regulations since 1994:
Current legislation provides protection for:• Immature conch
Flared lip Meat weight (280g)
Revised Legislation (not in effect)• Includes Permit system
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Stock Assessment – CRFM Sci Meeting
Density survey – EU SFA 2003 Socio-economic survey – EU SFA 2003
• Co-management with fishers Training of conch divers in SCUBA Hyperbaric chamber committee
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Two management objectives have been defined for this resource:• rebuilding the near shore stocks and• ensuring sustainable use of this resource
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major market for meat • local market serving both the tourism sector and
nationals Local markets include: Saint Lucia Fish
Marketing Co-operation, hotels, restaurants, seafood festival vendors and the general public
Growing demand for conch at seafood festivals stimulate economic development in these communities.
Sale of conch shells, is another area for economic benefits.
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Data collection include: gathering of data on catch, effort etc.
Conch landings are captured for Gros Islet in the north, where the majority of conch is landed; Laborie; Vieux Fort and Dennery
Over the past 12 years conch landings have been on a steady decline. CPUE also confirms.
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CRFM Sci meeting assessment • Rec. initial 30 tonnes per year harvest quota
Current density indicates average of 242.87 individuals per hectare
2008 socio-economic study – majority of fishers reported no change.
Need for conch fishers to be engaged to foster stewardship .
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The following summarises the information on issues affecting the conch fishery:
• Sustained Data Collection collaboratively with
fishers. • Regional integration of information on stocks needs
to inform management decisions.
• Depths at which the conch are now found is becoming an even greater limiting factor on the number of dives that are being conducted.
• Fisheries management recommendations should be
done collaboratively with fishers to reduce enforcement pressures.
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