Abstract

In the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI), queen conch shells are discarded as a waste product of the conch fishery and appear to act as important shelters for fishes and invertebrates in sea grass areas. This study investigated whether adding conch shells to seagrass increases the densities of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) and spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), both commercially important species in the TCI. In February 2008, four plots were prepared in the seagrass beds running parallel to Long Beach on the east coast of South Caicos, TCI. These conch plots were >300m away from each other, and each plot consisted of 4 permanent 20 m long transects running perpendicular to shore. Each transect was delineated with 20 conch shells with the aperture facing upwards. At approximately monthly intervals from late April to early July, the number of fishes and lobsters were recorded along these permanent transects and along control transects performed in the seagrass areas between conch plots. Compared to control areas, conch plots had higher densities of young-of-the-year E. striatus, juvenile P. argus, and all fishes combined. Respectively, mean densities were > 37, > 150 and > 22 times greater in conch plots. Thus, the strategic deployment of conch shells over wider areas may be of benefit to fisheries by enhancing stocks of Nassau grouper and spiny lobster.

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