7 News Belize

God Save The Queen Conch!
posted (November 3, 2014)
For lovers of conch ceviche, conch soup and conch fritters, October to June are the bests months - because that's when conch season in open. But for conch fishermen there real reason to celebrate tonight because the industry which earned 11 million Belize dollars in export earnings last year - was saved from destruction when the United States rejected a petition to list the queen conch as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petition was submitted by WildEarth Guardians in 2012 - they said that the conch was in danger of decimation. Caribbean countries as well as those in Central and South America rejected that completely, and in Belize's case, proved how a management regime is keeping the queen conch viable.

Today the US National Marine Fisheries Service announced that, quote, "Based on the best scientific and commercial information available…we have determined that the species does not warrant listing at this time. We conclude that the queen conch is not currently in danger of extinction….nor is it not likely to become so within the foreseeable future."

That's a decision that saved thousands of livelihoods in the region, including Belize where there are approximately 3,000 fishers engaged in fishery. Belize produced almost one million pounds of conch for export in 2013. Most of the exports go to the United States.

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