Restoring the natural Queen Conch population in the Caribbean

The Curaçao Sea Aquarium has a Queen Conch Hatchery that hopes to conserve the species by breeding juveniles that they can then release into the wild. The Queen Conch is a giant sea snail that lives on the seabed. Due to low offspring of the hatchery, they are now receiving support from the BESTLIFE2030 programme to research what is causing this. ‘We currently produce about 1,000 juveniles each year, but the goal is 10,000,’ reveals Michiel van Nierop, marine biologist and research coordinator of the hatchery.

Headerphoto: A Queen Conch on the seabed © Michiel van Nierop / Queen Conch Hatchery

The Queen Conch, which has been classified as endangered throughout its range^[1]Source: Queen Conch | NOAA Fisheries, is an iconic species and delicacy in the Caribbean region. It is also an important species for maintaining healthy ocean systems, as coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems benefit from a healthy Queen Conch population. They feed on algae, and dead organic matter, preventing algal overgrowth and contributing to nutrient cycling. Furthermore, they provide income for people the islands. Their meat is a local delicacy and therefore very valuable and their shells are often collected and sold as souvenirs. Both the meat and the shell are exported by Caribbean countries, making the Queen Conch fishery a way to bring in foreign currency. A healthy population allows for sustainable fishing to continue this source of income and acts as an attraction for snorkelers and divers. Conserving the Queen Conch in the Caribbean region is thus beneficial for humans and nature.

How is the Queen Conch threatened?

The natural population of the Queen Conch is threatened by overfishing and the disappearance of its habitat. The (often illegal) fishing is driven by the high demand for Queen Conch, which has become a delicacy in the Caribbean. ‘Since the 1960s, snail meat has increasingly become a delicacy and now has a high economic value,’ says van Nierop. The Queen Conch is also sought after for its beautiful shell, as this can be sold as a souvenir to tourists. This means that the larger Queen Conch are being caught, leaving fewer and fewer adult Queen Conch to reproduce. ‘They can be found mostly on shallow seabeds and, as they are snails, do not move much, which means you can pick them up easily,’ explains van Nierop. The population density is currently so low that it is almost impossible for male and female snails to meet and mate.

Their lack of speed also makes them very vulnerable to processes that affect reproductive success, like habitat becoming increasingly fragmented. ‘There are fewer and fewer seagrass beds in the Caribbean and water quality is deteriorating. As a result of this and overfishing, there is a huge decline in the population of the Queen Conch across the Caribbean.’

The hatchery

To conserve the Queen Conch population across the Dutch Caribbean, a hatchery has been set up as an initiative of the Foundation Curaçao Deep Reef Research Centre. It is currently the only Queen Conch Hatchery in the Caribbean that has the potential to produce a large number of individuals. The project has been running since 2021, however, the offspring was lower than expected. They now receive BESTLIFE2030 funding to do research into effective hatching practices.

The aim of the project is to produce 1 year old Queen Conch juveniles and release them in selected areas. This will create nursery grounds, where dense populations of snails enable the species to reproduce naturally. ‘We currently release the species on a small scale here in Curaçao and Bonaire, in the bay areas, but we are not yet producing enough juveniles to do this on a larger scale,’ says van Nierop. ‘We currently produce about 1,000 juveniles each year, but the goal is 10,000.’ Once the Queen Conch Hatchery starts producing more juveniles soon, they will be able to release the species in more places.

Breeding for a future of the Queen Conch

Support from the BESTLIFE2030 programme is expected to give the hatchery insight into the best practices for growing Queen Conch juveniles. ‘This project offers the hatchery the opportunity to improve its unique breeding programme, which is needed for the successful reintroduction of this keystone species,’ says Caspar Verwer, senior expert nature conservation from IUCN NL. The hatchery is doing this in collaboration with Wageningen University Marine Research and Florida Atlantic University, where van Nierop, with practical support of the hatchery manager Manuel Jove and Algae expert Licet Hernandez, is supervising students to investigate the bottle necks in the breeding programme. ‘At the beginning of 2025, the first students arrived,’ says. The duration of the project is 22 months, during which research will explore the optimal aquaculture conditions required for the Queen Conch to grow and survive. ‘The Queen Conch goes through different life cycles and various diets belong to these phases, ’explains van Nierop. ‘In addition, it is also important that there is enough calcium carbonate in their food to form the shell and the snails can become stressed if placed with too many in one tank.’ It is therefore important to know which conditions yield most juveniles. The results of this research will allow the Queen Conch Hatchery to adjust its methods and improve survival rates for Queen Conch juveniles.

The BESTLIFE2030 programme

The Curaçao Queen Conch Hatchery is part of the BESTLIFE2030 programme. It is funded by the EU LIFE-programme, a European environmental and climate action grant programme. BESTLIFE 2030 provides funding for projects that work on nature conservation and restoration in overseas countries and territories of the European Union to stop and reverse global biodiversity loss.

IUCN NL is the focal point for Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. These islands have a high biodiversity, but are among the places that are the most vulnerable to climate change and environmental pressures.