A man was arrested on Monday, 3 Feb. for possession of 70 conch – well beyond the legal daily limit of five conch per person or 10 per boat.
The man has also been charged with assaulting an officer, after he reportedly threw a large rock at a Department of Environment officer in his pursuit, resulting in injury.
The DoE said the conch had been poached from a marine protected area in Barkers, West Bay. Harvesting conch or lobster from marine reserves or line fishing zones is illegal.
“The seized conch was unfortunately already removed from the shell so it was donated to Meals on Wheels,” a DoE statement said.
The department has previously donated poached conch to Meals on Wheels, including 40 pounds of conch seized in December 2023 and turned into meals for seniors.
A second suspect has been warned for intended prosecution and the matter is under investigation, the DoE said.
While conch season runs until 30 April and lobster season until 28 Feb., the DoE reminded the public to honour legally established limits and to avoid restricted areas. The daily limit for lobster is three per person or six per boat.
Poaching of marine species poses a significant threat to these populations in the Cayman Islands and can result in criminal prosecution.
For more information on take limits and restricted locations, visit the DoE website or download the app Cayman DoE.
Reports of suspected poaching can be submitted by phone or WhatsApp to 916-4271 or by calling 911.
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While Parliament has considered banning visitors from fishing or legally harvesting lobster or conch, some citizens poach conch, lobster and turtles with little or no consequences. Let’s get government to go after the root cause of the problem, and prosecute those that violate the law. I hope the Compass follows up on these two stories (poached turtle dies and 70 conch seized) to determine what action government actually takes.
Good to see Now DOE has to go after illegal fishing I sent a picture to them and this paper on Sat of a small boat fishing about 100 ft off shore in front of Cresent Point Condos
This happens all too often. Reminders of the rules from the D of E have zero effect on these mindless predators. What we need are more inspectors to police the restricted zones and in cases like this a minimum sentence of 5 years in jail for the perpetrators.
THANK YOU DOE for arresting these mindless predators. Our marine life needs protection and the DOE’s Marine Enforcement is our only line of defense.