We have started this project in response to over fishing of both these species. When these animals have reached sufficiently developed stage then we will have special dive trips to go and relocate them to secret spots around Utila's reef.

The Queen Conch (pronounced 'konk') is a large marine gastropod mollusk. They are protected under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). This means that without a permit export is a breach of CITES regulations and may lead to arrest. This is most likely to occur on return to the tourist's home country while clearing customs. In the UK conch shells are the ninth most seized import.

Queen Conch abundance is declining throughout the specie's range as a result of over fishing and poaching. Populations of the species in Honduras, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, in particular, are currently being exploited at rates that are unsustainable. Only 1 in 75,000 newly hatched conch survive to adulthood. When raised in captivity for 3 months the survival rate increases to 1 in 50. When they reach a size of of a couple of inches they have very few predators with teeth strong enough to break their shells.


In general please don't take empty shells from the reef. Empty Queen Conch shells are a favorite of Giant Hermit crabs. When eating out in restaurants please avoid conch and lobster. The situation around Utila and Roatan is reaching a critical level and although we hope to help your help can also go a long way. Please ask in our office how you can support this project.

One of the main food sources for rays of all kinds, including the amazing Eagle Ray, is juvnile snails such as conch. Without the conch one of the first things we'll notice is less rays.

Spiny Lobsters
 Seventy Seven Thousand metric tons of Caribbean Spiny Lobster were exported between the years 2000 and 2003. According to some researchers the presence of this specie is no longer detected on approximately half of the Caribbean reefs.

In Honduras and the Bay Islands lobster are important for both fishing and tourist industry. Although the Spiny Lobster is not endangered in the Bay Islands they have experienced a massive decline in population due to over fishing, destruction of mangrove swamps where juveniles prefer to live, damage of sea grass beds by yachts and other destructive habits put pressure on the next stage of lobster development and finally unsustainable fishing practices on the adults themselves.

Lobster Lifecycle:

Stage	Size	Age	Habitat	Diet
Larvae	Plankton	1 year	Open sea
Post larvae	> 5mm	2 year
Juvenile	5 - 45mm	2 to 4 years	Costal areas, especially mangrove.	Algae
Pre-adult	5-45mm	5 to 6 years	Prefer seagrass beds, also reef	small fish, worms
Adult	>80mm	>7 years	Reef and deep sea	mollusk, fish, crustaceans