Show your LOVE for the conch by supporting our upcoming citizen science project MY SCIENCE, MY CONCH!

If you've had a chance to look at all the reports and publications we have on our Community Conch website, you know queen conch are in trouble in The Bahamas. We are still dedicated to collecting more fisheries data to help manage the resource more sustainably, but we feel its time to start raising awareness about the the issue in communities throughout the country and really put the "community" in Community Conch.

Bahamians need to know that their most beloved seafood is in danger of disappearing if action is not taken soon to stop the decline in conch populations. To make this point, we have come up with a really fun and informative program that will get people involved in the process of collecting data on an unsustainable fishing practice that is becoming increasingly common on fishing grounds throughout the islands; the harvest of juvenile conch. Here's a brief overview of the project...

Community Conch has teamed up with the Bahamas National Trust and the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation to carry out this project. Both organizations are skilled educators and veterans of the "save the conch" cause. With your support we hope to travel to 15 islands in The Bahamas and connect with community groups on each island to conduct surveys of as many piles of conch shells as possible. These piles of shells are called middens in the scientific world and are full of interesting information, like the sizes and ages of the conchs that are being harvested. We are particularly interested in looking at the proportion of juvenile conchs in these piles, in the past and in the present. We'll reach out to schools, churches, clubs, and fishermen to get things started and hopefully, they'll reach out to their friends and family members. All participants will go through a short training session to learn about conch biology, ecology, the methods we will use to survey the middens and to gain a greater appreciation of the role of science in the management of a marine resource like conch. After we complete the survey, we'll debrief the experience and plan a celebration of conch in Bahamian culture when the whole community will be invited to cook, dance the conch-style, and review the results of our efforts!

We think this will be a great project to raise awareness and get the public involved and on board with the urgent need for change in conch management policy. Can you support our effort? Every donation, big or small, helps!

Need an idea for how much to donate? How many conch did you eat last year...multipy that by $1 or $10! If you did not consume any conch last year (you must not live in The Bahamas) maybe you love the place, the people, or the beautiful shell of the queen conch. If you have one tiny reason, make one tiny donation. If you have a big reason...you will see big results!

Check out the pictures and video (to the left and on our website), filmed in Exuma and Abaco, to learn more about our work. If you’re interested in learning how to measure the age of a conch, check out this video put together by a couple of our volunteers in Abaco.

Thank you for your support of this project. Please tell a friend and help us reach our goal! www.communityconch.org

<style type="text/css"></style>