“Strombus gigas (queen conch) on Grand Cayman Island by the Caribbean Sea. Photo by James St. John
The Center for Biological Diversity filled the suit on Wednesday against the National Marine Fisheries Service over protections for the Queen Conch.
The lawsuit is a step towards getting the Queen Conch’s home recognized as a critical protection habitat.
That recognition usually happens simultaneously or within a year of a species getting labeled as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
It would ensure that federal projects do not jeopardize the large snail’s existence.
“But to date we still don’t have a critical habitat designation for the Queen Conch,” said Alex Muir, an associate attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Florida and Caribbean program. “Because of that, we’re missing out on important protection for the Conch as a result of projects like the dredging that is going on for the Sand by Bypass projects off of Broward County’s coast.”
The project she’s referring to in Broward County involves offshore construction to create a sand pit that will be later dredged up and reused to replenish beaches.
Usually for that type of project, the Army Corps of Engineers would be required to check for critical protection habitats and make sure no threatened species would be affected.
“And so that that failure of the of the Army Corps to designate critical habitat for the Queen Conch is just one example where their failure to meet these deadlines are jeopardizing the continued existence of species that are in need and really entitled to that protection under the act,” said Muir.
The Queen Conch’s population has been declining for the past few decades.
Especially since these large snails need high population numbers in order to keep healthy reproductive rates.
It also faces other challenges like recreational harvest, illegal fishing and habitat destruction due to hurricanes or construction.
In the U.S., the Queen Conch is mostly found off the coast of Florida, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, but its territory extends throughout the Caribbean.