Queen conch have been protected in Florida since the 1970s, but their populations have been slow to recover. Biologists working with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have found that inshore populations of conch in the Florida Keys have quit reproducing in inshore habitats. Offshore populations continue to spawn, but have lower growth rates than conch juveniles moved inshore. Studies are being done to assess the best habitats for juvenile growth and hatchery releases.

Queen conch were successfully spawned in captivity for the first time in 2001 at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI). Mote’s Conch Aquaculture Research team is working closely with HBOI in the development of juvenile culture techniques for queen conch and fighting conch. These studies have been conducted in our greenhouse facility on City Island, at Mote Aquaculture Park, at Mote’s Conch Baby Farm in Key West, and at HBOI in Fort Pierce. The goal of this research effort is to produce Florida Queen Conch for restocking research trials in the Florida Keys. This research will be conducted by Mote’s Center for Fisheries Enhancement.

                  
                                                                                                                    

                                                                       Back to Mote                                                                   Back to CARD
                                                                        Main Page                                                                          Main Page