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Conch Export Ban Will Not ‘Collapse’ Sector

A ban on conch exports will not “collapse” the fishing industry, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) president said Tuesday, adding that the organisation backed efforts to preserve a population that generated 1.6 million pounds in recorded landings last year.

“Fishermen understand that our conch resources are at a critical point and some efforts need to be put in place to preserve the volume of product moving forward,” Adrian Laroda told Tribune Business.

The BCFA president estimated that harvested conch represented less than 25 per cent of fisheries exports.

Bahamas National Trust executive director, Eric Carey, recently told Tribune Business that survey results have revealed that the Bahamian conch population is being driven to extinction.

While unable to quantify when, at the present rate of harvesting, the Bahamian conch population would be driven to extinction, Mr Carey said one of the likely recommendations would be that conch exports be banned or limited. The Bahamas currently exports some $3.3 million, or 600,000 pounds, worth of conch per year.

Posted in Business

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