Conch

[GordMay]

* CRACKED CONCH *

6 Medium Conch, bruised (beat /w meat hammer) until thin & shredded
2 eggs, beaten 'till frothy
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup flour

Clean conch. Bruise with metal mallet untill very tender. Mix together: eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Dip conch in mixture, then roll in flour. Fry in 1/4" (or less) oil until golden brown. Serve & enjoy.

* CONCH SALAD *

2 conch, cleaned & finely chopped
1 orange, juiced
1/2 lime juiced
1/2 lemmon, juiced
1 small onion, coarsly chopped
2 tomatoes, coarsly chopped
2 small hot (red) chilli peppers, finely chopped (alternate: 1 tsp. dried chilli peppers)

Marinate the conch in the juices for 2 to 3 hours, then remove & reserve juice. Combine conch with chopped vegetables. Add orange & lime juice just prior to serving, season /w salt & pepper.
This recipe also works well with Shrimp or Lobster, or Scallops.

Enjoy!
Gord

[Sonosailor]

We reviewed our conch procedures before going through the Bahamas. We checked everywhere we went, including (for academic reasons) the various parks and protected areas. No conch.

I fear they have gone the way of the great pine forests of the Bahamas, and the soil they used to grow in.

[Vasco]

Sonosailor,

There are still tons of conch in the Bahamas. Granted they're not as easy to find as they were twenty years ago but we still manage to get our fill of conch every year. We remember the good spots but they do move around so they may or may not be in the same spot the next year. You need a grassy bottom and fast moving water for the best conching spots. Last season we got lots of them in Normans Cay by hanging onto the dink and letting it drift through the inside anchorage on an incoming tide. A couple of seasons earlier there weren't any there. Of course the locals go miles onto the Banks and gather them up using a hookah. The price of conch (if you want to buy it ashore) has not increased greatly over the years so I guess there's still lots around.

[CSY Man]

I fear they have gone the way of the great pine forests of the Bahamas, and the soil they used to grow in.

Lots of conch in the Bahamas:
We see severeal close to the boat most of the time we anchor.

Also lobster: The big and fat ones are in the Exuma Park where harvesting is outlawed.

Lots of conch and lobster a few hundred feet North of Honeymoon Harbour of Gun Cay.

We don't go after them because of seasons and fishing permit issues, but enjoy watchin while we snorkel.

Bought a few conchs from local fishermen in Allens Cay this summer. Tried to make "cracked conch" in the galley after beating the daylight out of the poor creatures with a hammer, but no flour onboard so it did not turn out a gourmet dish, but tasty anyway.

Thanks for the above Mr. Gord, I will print the recepie and store on boat for next time...

[ssullivan]

True, and there are also tons in the Netherland Antilles.

[Canibul]

Theres no conch in the Turks and Caicos! No lobster! There are no fish! Visibility is horrible, the locals are not friendly, and the sun never shines...ITs wall to wall Tacky T-shirt shops, and souvenirs made in China...no beaches to speak of. Its impossible to get away from rampant development, and its crowded and dirty, too.

Stay away! Tell all your friends not to come here!! Go to Jamaica, or the Bahamas.. I hear Haiti is nice. You can sneak into Cuba easily enough...but not the Turks and Caicos!

To quote B'rer Rabbit, "You can hang me just as high as you want, but PLEASE dont fling me in that briar patch..."

[Canibul]

actually, we get all the conch we need down here,easily. Usually dive for them in 15-20 ft. of water, and can pick up a half dozen in less than 10 minutes. We have good recipes for conch chili, cracked conch, conch fritters, sauteed conch, etc. I love the stuff. Eat it three or four times a week.

I can get them out of the shell easily enough, but peeling them is a booger...any tips on that greatly appreciated.

[Bear Essentials]

Originally Posted by Canibul

actually, we get all the conch we need down here,easily. Usually dive for them in 15-20 ft. of water, and can pick up a half dozen in less than 10 minutes. We have good recipes for conch chili, cracked conch, conch fritters, sauteed conch, etc. I love the stuff. Eat it three or four times a week.

I can get them out of the shell easily enough, but peeling them is a booger...any tips on that greatly appreciated.

We would love it if you posted your recipies for the various conch dishes!

When growing up in California, abalone was common but expensive in restaurants between Long Beach and San Diego. However, now it's almost impossible to get it north of the Mexican border.

When I had some sauteed Conch at Snooks Restaurant in Key Largo, the memories came flooding back! Almost exactly like the abalone I remembered and had loved so much.

We know it's illegal to harvest Conch in Florida waters, but we plan on traveling to the Bahamas on a regular basis, so any recipies you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks bunches

Lee and Terry
Bear Essentials
Miami, FL

[GordMay]

The Queen Conch (conch) is considered an endangered species throughout much of the wider Caribbean, including The Bahamas. In an effort to ensure the continued sustainability of local conch stocks, the harvesting of Conch by foreign boaters is now prohibited (as of January 1, 2007).

"... e) No vessel shall have on board any conch, turtle or ..."

Goto:
http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/about...169643&level=2

[Ram]

IT IS Illegal to take any conch in the Bahamas form now on, unless you are a Bahamian
The locals have complained that the foreigner’s boats have been taking all the conch so they recently passed this into law, the fishing regs have changed big time also. Not that this will change anything as far as the conch population is concerned,

Its the commercial conch boats that are causing most of the harm, they work an area until there are not enough conch to make it worth there wile staying there & then move to the next place and wipe it out.
SOO be careful not to take any as they may take your boat in trade if they find you with conch.

About 10 years ago, I had a regular group charter where we rented 3 houses on the beach in Green Turtle Cay and I would take the folks to the reef every day and teach them scuba diving, after “class” wile there I would free dive & shoot some fish with the pole spear for diner. It’s illegal to spear anything with a spear gun or wile on scuba or hookah, although the locals do it and get away with it.
On my way back in I had my Air -compressor running filing up the tanks as I pulled into the dock to drop off everyone.
Once on the dock I cleaned the fish & threw them overboard, a local saw this and reported me to the police for spearing with scuba gear on.
The police came and took my brand new Bauer Air compressor ($3500) confiscated it!
And I had 10 people onboard that swore I did not use tanks when I shot the fish, they did not want to hear that they just wanted the compressor.

Lucky for me I was connected on that Island as I ran regular charters there renting houses ect, I told the woman whom I rented the houses from that I would not be back renting her house on this island because of what the police had done, By the next morning the police were at my boat apology up one side and down the other saying how they made a big mistake, on & on, please forgive us !
Anyway had I not known someone with some leverage I would have lost the compressor?
And if you look at the Bahamaian Defense force boats - I believe every one of then they got from some one who “broke the law” at some point.
Ram

[FrankZ]

My girlfriend and I were in Jamaica last week and she kept saying she wanted to try conch. On and on she went about it. The resort didn't offer it. We finally got some conch fritters in Montego Bay airport. She bites into one and says "Oh, it is like a hushpuppy with chewy bits". All that hype and then she wasn't really impressed. I do suspect they weren't the best conch fritters (being at Margarittaville in the airport).

[Bear Essentials]

Guess I unwittingly unleashed a firestorm. As I'm new to this forum, I'm not quite familar with what to say and who can post. Will continue to 'lurk' for a while before posting again. Please accept my apologizes

On an asside, I own properity in the Bahamas (Indian Hole Point, Long Island) and Conch is caught routinely off my shoreline. Suppose the best way to avoid the legal entanglements outlined by those responding to my query would be to pay some local to get me a couple. Hardly seems worth it.

Sigh

Lee and Terry
Bear Essentials
Miami, FL

[hellosailor]

Ram, that's the way it works in too many small towns, all over the world. And collateral damage (like banning recreational "fishing") from ill-made regulations is often a good way to poison a tourist trade, but I guess many places are happier to keep the hordes away.

I suppose they'd never believe flatfish with a hole in them were taken with a knife instead of a spear--but it's possible to hunt flatfish with just a dive knife, if they have any flatfish worth hunting there.

[delmarrey]

Last time I went diving in S. Cal., there were plenty there....................._/)

[CaptainK]

Ya can thank the hungry horde of sea otters. That ate up all the abalone and conch. Along most of the California coast. Back during the 1980's and 1990's.