Pilot hatchery for the queen conch, Strombus gigas, shows potential for inexpensive and appropriate technology for larval aquaculture in the Bahamas

Abstract

To restore conch fishery resources in the Caribbean, the establishment of both large productionscale hatcheries that produce animals for export markets and small-scale facilities aimed at reseeding local areas with juveniles is necessary. Up to now little effort has been devoted to the latter. A pilot hatchery was developed, with commonly available resources, which produced about 5000 nearly competent larvae of Strombus gigas at an average shell length of 930 μm after 30 days. Results of our pilot hatchery project showed that the underlying approach is promising and should be developed further.