A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE CONCH FISHERY ON THE SHELF AND BANKS OFF THE SOUTH COAST OF JAMAICA

There has been a recent rapid expansion in the fishery for conch on the south coast and banks south of Jamaica. This expansion appears to be primarily due to the entry into the fishery of several commercial scale vessels, in the 70 - 90 ft. size range with up to 20 divers using SCUBA and hooka gear. Preliminary estimates suggest that landings of conch meats in 1990 were somewhere in the vicinity of 2,100 metric tons. Export data indicate that about 800 and 1,200 metric tons of processed conch were exported in 1990 and 1991. The landings appear to be coming primarily from Pedro Bank. Preliminary estimates of the potential sustainable yield of conch from Pedro Bank, based on estimate, from other areas of the Caribbean, are 600 - 800 metric tons per year. Therefore, it is likely that continued harvesting at current rates will rapidly lead to severe overexploitation. Rough estimates suggest that the fishery will reduce the resource past the levels required for MSY within the next 2 - 3 years. Experience elsewhere in the Caribbean indicates that conch stocks are easily reduced to such low levels that recruitment of young conch is diminished, and the fishery collapses with considerable loss in revenue.