Over fishing of queen conch in the caribbean

This discussion topic submitted by Zoe heslop (zheslop02@yahoo.co.uk) at 12:17 PM on 9/26/02. Additions were last made on Thursday, January 2, 2003.

Utila is a small island off the coast of Honduras where the main economy is derived from both fishing and tourism through scuba diving. Over recent years the number of Queen Conch living in the area has decreased quite dramatically. A new initiative is trying to be implemented in order to preserve these animals. However, due to lack of education and information it is increasingly difficult to explain the importance of the Queen Conch to local fishermen who look upon these animals as a means of money and food. A recent, relatively controversial, decision has just been introduced through the mayor of the island where by it allows all local fishermen to fish where ever and when ever they like. A number of locals both in the diving and fishing industries are opposed to this idea and we are trying to gather relative information to prove our case that this new decision would be extremely detrimental to the island as a whole. If you have any information that would be of value to our case we would greatly appreciate it. We understand the value of these animals and also the increasing concern regarding the population numbers. We hope to succeed in our case and any help availiable would be greatly appreciated.

Yours Z. Heslop



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It is 2:05:17 AM on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Last Update: Thursday, January 2, 2003