Seafood Project: Conch

Seafood: Conch
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Seafood: Conch
Description
The conch is a type of large marine snail that has a pale brown shell with rosy-pink lips. It can be classified as a marine gastropod mollusk. It has many species that are all edible, but the queen conch is the most common form of the conch available in North America. Conch are mainly herbivores as they feed on algae and other small plants. Thus, they can be classified as prey in the food chain providing food for turtles, shark, lobsters, among others sea carnivores. Notably, the shell is a product of the calcium and carbonate ions that the conch absorbs from the seawater. The mantle of the conch is orange in color and it has dark spots in some cases (Laidlaw, 2020). The edible part of the conch is known as the foot and is mainly used for locomotion. It is muscular to facilitate the movement of the conch. At the tip of the foot, the conch has an operculum that is also used for locomotion (UNCTAD, 2022). Notably, the operculum is hard and sickle-shaped and facilitates the hopping motion characteristic of conch movements. The conch has an extensible snout known as the proboscis that is long and flexible. The proboscis has a radula that acts as the tongue and is mainly used for scrapping algae off the seagrass blades while feeding. At either side of the proboscis, the conch has two eyestalks that contain miniature sensory tentacles that are used for scent detection. The reproductive organ of the conch is known as the verge.
Habitat
Notably, the suitable habitat for the conch varies across its life cycles but can be found in freshwater given that they feed on algae. At the larval stage, conch is mainly planktonic and tends to float on water currents and settle in suitable habitats. When in their juvenile stages, conch survives in shallow waters in seagrass beds and shallow waters in the coastal Wetlands. Once they became adults, the conch lives in seagrass beds and sand flats where they can easily access algae, diatoms, and detritus usually at 2-30 meters depth (UNCTAD, 2022). Overall, conch is mainly found in shallow waters given that they are herbivorous and the algae that they feed on need sunlight to grow (Lamar University, 2022).
Culinary History
The conch has been a part of the Bahamas' cuisine since the early days of the Pre-Colombian Lucayans Indians. It was used to supplement their dietary intake of roots. The conch was an important source of protein given that few land animals were available for hunting in the Bahamas. Marine fishes including that conch contributed higher than 80 percent of the meat protein in the Lucayan diet. The conch was also a big part of the Taino people, 800 years ago. Usually, the Taino would crack the conch shell and pull the meat flesh, which they enjoyed while raw. The conch is a native of the Bahamas' coastline and was a major part of the diet enjoyed by the Native Bahamians.
Availability
Conch is a seafood that is available all year round from its natural habitat. However, the availability has been adversely affected by overfishing, with the queen conch being declared as one of the endangered species in the Caribbean (UNCTAD, 2022). The decline in the population of conch available for commercial harvest was observed as early as the mid-1970s in the Caribbean and Florida, with the Florida Keys banning the commercial harvest of Conch in 1975 (NOAA Fisheries, 2022). The ban was expanded to cover recreational and commercial conch harvest in the US territorial waters in 1986 (Horn et al., 2022). Despite the drastic measures, the US is yet to experience a significant increase in the availability of conch for harvest. The conch can be found in fresh and frozen form depending on the point of purchase. It is also found in canned form and one can purchase pre-cooked conch meat in supermarkets and in fish markets.
In addition to sourcing from natural habitats, aquaculture remains a significant source of conch. Conch farming began in the 1970s amid concerns that the species was facing significant fishing pressure. Almost 40 percent o...