TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Fresh Conch

I'll be taking a new crew down to BVI bare boating again come mid Jan 2016. One fellow is obsessed with eating fresh conch, preferably right out of the shell. I've had crew ask for all sorts of the mundane to the bizarre but have never come across this one. I'm looking for info as specific as possible. My first thought was to hook up with somone on Anegada and give it a day, but I'd like to get this one nailed down asap. Thanks for any ideas.

Walker Mangum, who has a home on Cow Wreck, Anegada would be the perfect person to ask..you can contact him through his website
bvipirate.com.

Definitely hit Anegada - you can snorkel out from Cow Wreck Beach and find conch, open it and pay someone local to cook it for you. One of our crew did two weeks ago.

Remember for non belongers its illegal to harvest conch...

Just be aware that visitors are not allowed to take any conch from the sea.

I have seen this stated here several times. I am not disagreeing but where is this stated? Everything that I have been able to find is that you have to get a license then follow the applicable laws. For conch it appears the season is closed from August 15th - October 31st. I haven't been able to find anything on non-BVI resident laws or regulations.

http://www.bvidef.org/1/index.php/fisheries-resources/closed-season-schedule

https://www.laststopsports.com/LSS_Files/A_BVI_Guide_to_Recreational_Fishing.pdf

http://www.bvitourism.com/sites/default/files/upload/Fishing_Season_Guide.pdf

You can get conch in USVI. We make ceviche all the time. There definitely is a technique to open and clean them. You can You Tube it.

Look at your last link, about half way down it states "Visitors are not allowed to catch any of the following:"

conch are listed as one of these.

You can also take two lobsters per day per person in the USVI and they are more plentiful then in the BVI.
G

Thanks Colleen. I did see that and that's one of the reasons I posted it. I guess what I don't understand is that there is nothing on any of the official BVI gov't sites that say anything about this. Out of curiosity I did send an email to the Conservation and Fisheries Department. Waiting to hear back. They do have a lot of good info on their website but nothing that I would consider regulations concerning size, number, etc. It's very generic. Can't have more than 30lbs of fish per boat, types of fishing licenses, etc.

http://www.bvidef.org/1/index.php/fisheries-resources/bvi-fishing-licences

This is about as specific as it gets:

PLEASE NOTE:

While visiting the BVI and having any interest in fishing in the BVI, one should contact the Conservation & Fisheries Department.

In situations where persons visit the BVI for only a short period of time and are interested in fishing, a fishing permit may be granted by the Ministry of Natural Resources & Labour and this permit is valid for one month at the cost of $45.00 (US). Applications for a fishing permit should be made no earlier than two (2) before the intended date of arrival into the BVI. For persons desirous of applying online please comple and submit the relevant application below along our Credit Card Authorisation Form.

The permit does not include catching fish for sale but catching fish for one’s personal use not exceeding thirty (30) pounds.

It is ILLEGAL to fish in the BVI waters without a valid fishing license or permit granted by the Ministry of Natural Resources & Labour. Any one witnessing the practice of illegal fishing activities in the BVI waters should either contact the Royal Virgin Island Police Force or the Conservation & Fisheries Department immediately.


It is ILLEGAL to catch the following during Closed Seasons:

1st January – 31st March Margate Fish (haemulon album)
1st January – 31st March Red Hind (epinephelus guttatus)
1st March – 31st May Nassau Grouper (epinephelus striatus)
1st April – 30th November Marine Turtles
31st July – 31st October Lobsters
15th August - 31st October Queen Conch (strombus gigas)
15th August - 31st October Whelk (cittarium pica)

I just found a PDF of my husbands fishing licenses, it states "there shall be no hooking of lobsters, taking of turtles, conch or whelks."

Not sure how to upload a PDF.

The fine was around $5,000 per Conch and they would confiscate your boat if not paid.

that is one expensive cerviche

I like the licensing date: 4th of Apr till the 3rd of April 2014

Yeah, I e-mailed them about they error, they re-issued.

Conch, unless properly prepared, has the texture of rubber. Why bother?

Because when it is prepared properly (easy to do) it is delicious!

My first thought at the words "right out of the shell" was he must have really good teeth and jaw muscles. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Once that thing looks at him I think he'll change his mind!!

We have had a local make conch ceviche and conch stew for us, I'm not a fan of conch, but the way he made it, it was delicious!. It was an all day affair, we sat on the beach and cleaned the conch, then pounded it with a rock, then soaked it in lime juice. The stew was really good served over rice.

Neptunes has a conch roti that is absolutely the best thing ever!!!

I love conch fritters and other conch dishes if done right.
It the Grenadines on Union Island in Chatham Bay we had a conch dish made by Shark Attack BBQ that was out of this world. Small tender chunks of conch in a very nice sauce.

Hog Heaven makes absolutely incredible Conch & Butter Sauce using a pressure cooker. And as one poster on another thread said the view is "nice". <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

In the Grenadines conch is usually called 'lambi' <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Local sailor - indeed!

Thanks all for the replies folks. I think I'll forgo the high adventure of risking a painful fine to humor one of my crew. I'll make contact with Walker and seek a hookup with a local. This crew member is pretty obsessed with this idea, so I'll try my best to make it happen. I've been sail/bare boating in the BVI since the 80's and never had this one come up.