CTFishTalk.com: Conch, the Almost Forgotten Shellfish 1972 to 2012 IMEP #39 - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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IMEP #39
Conch, the Almost Forgotten Shellfish 1972 to 2012
Understanding the Channeled Whelk
Tyler Greco and Michael Brehon
The Sound School
Jeffrey Alpert

Habitat Information For Fishers and Fishery Area Managers
Understanding Science Through History
(IMEP Habitat History Newsletters can be found indexed by date on The Blue Crab.Info™ website: Fishing, eeling and oystering thread) and
Connecticut Fish Talk.com Salt Water Reports

Native American Seafood Experience
Sound School Capstone Series
The Sound School Heritage Day Student Cooking Demonstration –
Students Capture (Conch Traps) and Prepare Conch Chowder
Three Possible Projects

- Conch Chowder
– Or Ground Conch in Pancakes
– Hearth Oven Demonstration

Revised July 2014
Tim Visel
A Seafood Capstone and Demonstration

Foreword

The Channeled Whelk (Conch) in Connecticut was once termed the forgotten shellfish but no longer. As lobsters died off post 1998, conch populations appeared to increase. Recreational lobstering off Madison and Guilford in 2007-09 found with my submittal, tremendous numbers of immature conchs (2 to 3 inches shell length) had moved into shallows along the beaches. It was a warm to hot period and absent strong storms. I did not experience these hearing conch populations lobstering in the same areas 30 years heavy before. The number of conch entering the lobster pots was huge – more than lobster. In fact, if it wasn’t for the conch, my son Willard mentioned one day it wasn’t worth the effort, lobstering was very slow. But as the Native Americans had discovered long ago, conch was very good, and we had conch fritters, and soups and in the winter and the conch chowder was great.

Conch became an important fishery here as lobstering declined after 2000. Conch had always been trapped to some extent and the scourge of the clam and oyster industry long ago. Here conch considered a serious predator oyster growers sought to remove them from grow out grounds. But for a segment of the population conch salad, fritters and chowder was a favorite seafood meal. In a few years, Long Island would become a significant producer of conch as nothing it seemed could stop the rise in populations. Then came Irene.

Concern had already been expressed for the conch fishery by September 2012, as more fishers turned to them in filing similar vessels for conch pots after the lobster fishery failed. And the price for conch went very high, and as a new generation discovered something that was almost lost an appreciation for this Native American favorite. Conch fritters, conch cakes and soups seemed everywhere in restaurants.

To learn more about the Channel Whelk, Tyler Greco and Michael Brehon Sound School supervised by Aquaculture Science Teacher Jeff Alpert designed a Capstone Project on bait and food preferences last year. Eight live conch were obtained from Ted Lemelin of Old Saybrook and brought to the Sound School on October 9th. Of the eight conch three lived to April 9th. Of the food bait offered, conch ate oysters, ribbed mussels and mussels in that order, but did not eat sandworms.

Cherrystone clams, hard clams or quahogs were consumed quickly but Asian shore crabs were not consumed, but bunker was (menhaden). The food that showed the most constant feeding from October to April was oysters however.
Students completed 10 pages of observations both 21 pages of water quality measures with charts. The public preparation of the project occurred on Sound School Capstone Day, May 20th, 2014. The Capstone Proposal guideline included as an Appendix.

Introduction

The native coastal tribal people of New England, especially Connecticut, participated in a great variety of fisheries, both shellfish and finfish. It is difficult to imagine the former productivity of these coastal fisheries today, so much has changed and the last four centuries have not been kind to them. Some are gone (The Connecticut Salmon Run failed in 1793) and in 2006, the alewife herring and river smelt were closed (prohibited) in Connecticut.

Most of the resource loss can be attributed to our dam building activities and how we treat the resource in general. But not all, some species such as conch are governed by storms, and temperature trends and continue to Native Americans we just didn’t “care” that much for conch. They were for the most part forgotten.

Eight years ago, I attended a resource management seminar at Yale University, one of the speakers commented on the resource aspect of dependency as a social and cultural one.
In summation, his remark was something to the effect that “people who no longer depend on a natural resource are destined to lose it.” At first, I found the statement somewhat harsh, but the more I study early Native American and Colonial fisheries; I have come to recognize its simple, yet powerful message.

What we know about Native American fisheries can be found in Colonial reports and oral history. We know just from so many Native American words for fish and shellfish here in CT, they were important and essential for survival in the harsh climate of what was to be called New England.

They waited as fishermen today wait, for the return of migratory seasonal fisheries, the weakfish, striped bass, mackerel and herring. Other fisheries just were unattainable in cold weather, like tautog, a strong but good tasting reef fish. Winter Ice prevented most fishing activities even for those bottom sessile organisms such as oysters and the much then favored hard shell clam – the Quahog. Early spring brought the arrival of the freshwater spawning, ocean dwelling fish, such as Salmon, Shad, the herring (Alewife) and smelt. These fish returning from the ocean to spawn were a welcome relief to the dried and smoked seafood from the fall.

What we do know is that seafood, crabs, lobsters, shellfish and the “true fishes” were much more abundant and seasons relatively short. It got colder quicker, and it stayed colder longer. Those types of winters here in Connecticut are fast becoming a distant memory. We also know about how fish were caught, not unlike today with some noticeable exceptions. In general, Native Americans along the coast waited for fish to come to them: they were trap buildings. If anything has changed, the fisheries here and their sustainability have been the transition, from passive to active fishing methods.

Today, we don’t wait, we take the fishery (hunt) to them with power and motor driven vessels; this has changed the nature of fishing, often with poor results. Others have declined because of climate changes much beyond our control.

Overfishing has become the unfortunate outcome of many species. The Atlantic Halibut, once a huge inshore fishery was over fished in the 1900’s and hasn’t come close to its earlier production levels when waters warmed here. Some biologists feel the Atlantic Halibut may never recover with warmer ocean temperatures.

Native Americans may have left us not only the remains of their large seafood feasts but also a code back to climate change based upon what they consumed. We call remains shell middens from the Dutch term- kitchen. One of the most frequent components of shell middens along Connecticut’s coast is conch.

No matter how conch were collected most conch found in middens the outer shell is broken in two places, smashed presumably to release the meat. Almost every shore midden explored along coastal Connecticut has contained conch shells.

It is recognized that Native Americans had four basic types of fisheries (excluding hand/feet, such as mussels, conch, clams and gathering seafood cast upon the beach after storms.)

Trap Fisheries – weirs and traps, basket traps for eels and lobsters – all herring, especially smelt and shad, early form of fyke nets (Tom Cod frost fish)

Net fisheries – fishing nets made of natural fiber, for weakfish, striped bass, mackerel and shad, some gill nets, but mostly seine – long haul type, some resemble “tangle nets.”

Spear and hook fisheries – included here are flounder, tautog, eels, striped bass, lobsters and blue crabs, turtles, salmon.

Rake and lift fisheries – oysters, bay scallops, clams (both hard and soft), scoop like devices that were hand operated called push/pull in Connecticut

Some reports mention a hook and line fishing for codfish, but this has not been confirmed. (Niantic Black Point Area)

Introduction:

Most people have never tried conch – often called the forgotten shellfish – but if they did it was most likely a soup or chowder. Several variations exist: a red tomato base chowder or a highly spiced tomato soup. Several distinct dishes can be found in Florida. Here in Connecticut and other New England areas it is commonly found as chowder.

Conch is a large marine snail that feeds on other shellfish such as clams and mussels, dead fish and even hibernating blue crabs when they can catch them. Native Americans consumed them in large quantities and found, no doubt, captured them near over soft shell clam beds in shallow tidal salt ponds or coves. To many it tastes like sweet corn.

Today conch inhabits deeper waters and must be trapped although after very severe storms they can be washed up on the shore, sometimes in great quantities. Conch is sold and cooked alive similar to other “shellfish”. A fleshy “foot” extends beyond the shell and in times of stress is drawn up into the protective shell cavity itself covered with a hard plastic “pad” or natural “shield” called the Operculum.

Black fish or tautog is a common predator of the conch although edible opportunities out of the shell are rare. (It does make a great line bait for tautog) Many people remember finding the necklace of conch egg cases, the very distinctive plastic like string of eggs each case with perfectly formed conch inside. They sometimes wash up on the beach after a winter storm. Conch can be purchased at large seafood markets as it has become somewhat of a specialty item in recent years. Conch should move slightly when tapped when purchasing, a sign that it is still alive – if the meat falls from the shell before cooking – discard it. It has a long shelf life and when chilled sometimes withdraws into the shell. When warmed conch resumes movement and even crawls – “the shellfish that moves”.

It is usually ground or sliced thin. Conch is a tough meat so ground, or sliced finely chopped meat is the way to go. A snail salad is made from thin slices marinated to soften the texture – an Italian/Greek favorite.

The Sound School Heritage Day
Quinnipiac and Hammonasset Accounts –
Long Ago Clam Bakes - Student Demonstration Activities
Seafood and Fisheries – Cooking in Stove/Dirt Ovens (Part 1)
The Sound School – Tim Visel

The Quinnipiac’s were one of a host of coastal Native Americans like the Hammonasset, Niantic and Narragansett that depended on local fresh seafood. The seasonal cooking of shellfish has been for centuries associated with clam bakes, but perhaps for the remains of shells in shell leaps in the remains from these roasts. These bakes (which included both fish and shellfish) were large steamers consisting of deep below grade pits were dug and lined with stones, a large fire is then built; when low, large cinders taken out and large amounts of wet seaweed placed over these coals and very hot rocks, followed by lobsters, blue crabs, mussels, oyster and hard clams; some conch, fish also; another layer of seaweed on top to trap the steam. Time is needed for the steam to do its work, but it is a giant steamer none the less.

Other examples of similar style “bakes” can be found such as all shad bake, which is a type of vertical roasting and the last reminder of this Native American practice of the Connecticut River. It can still be observed at the Annual Essex Rotary Shad Bake; here shad is roasted in a circular style surrounding on open fire. Once prevalent in the lower Connecticut River area it is, I believe one of just a few that remain today to see this Native American way to enjoy this amazing fish. Planking salmon on cedar is a West Coast First Nation similar practice which has also found its way into many seafood restaurants.

A third type is a much faster below ground “bake” very similar to the steam bakes which were a huge celebration of seafood. Some ceremonial bake pits were over 30 feet in diameter; I just can’t imagine how much seafood it would take to fill them or the amount of seaweed it would take to charge the steam to speed cooking. Another method most often reference to open earth or stone hearth but really below grade ovens was a miniature version of the much larger circular bake.

The question about dirt ovens (and some evidence exists that they were lined in stone), are the reverse of the “bakes” for seafood as a fire was built below, lined with seaweed and food placed on top to “steam” the food. Dirt (stone) ovens had the fire on top that burned down to cook the food below by conduction.

To construct one, which I have done, a small rectangular pit is dug 30 inches deep by 40 inches long, and 30 inches wide; it is lined with a flat stones, seafood placed on top of the rocks, and covered with flat stones. Seafood is cooked by lighting a fire on top of the top stones and letting it die out. The ashes are then raked out, and top stones removed with care, as they are still very hot: the stones carry the heat to the bottom of this “dirt oven” and cook the food. It’s a little by chance and you can overdo it as I found out once with “toasted corn. It takes time to experience and if you can soak the corn in water – this will actually help steam the corn. I suggest some reading about this type of cooking before it is presented. I myself had a learning experience at a University of Connecticut “Clam Bake” at a marine fisheries forum at Avery Point. The day of the March event, sleet extinguished the fire- most of the food was undercooked.”

It’s a great way to cook fish, but I cheat a little and wrap it in tin foil (helps keep the sand and dirt out). I also have cooked a mean succotash with maple sugar (also a Native American favorite) consisting of lima beans, corn, and green shucked beans with bacon covered with clam broth. To do that, you need a thick “stoneware” crock and lid. Any method allows corn soaked in water (leave husk leaves) and shad wrapped in tin foil can be cooked below the flames while students can use the fire itself to flame / broil cakes.
See conch potato cakes below as an alternative activity.

Part II
Conch or Whelk Chowder – The Almost Forgotten
Shellfish

A Native American favorite, not only for the meats, a tougher but sweeter version of the quahog hard shell clam, but use as a cup or “nature’s ladle.” Conch is “much firmer meat” than Quahog and some recipes call for beating the meats in a cloth bag, but my father’s universal meat grinder made short work of these tasty marine snails. The conch shell is quite distinctive, a geometric centric expanding cone spiraling to open “foot”. This is the smaller version of the true Conks, a more southern species, but you can still “hear” the ocean if you hold an empty clean shell whorl up to your ear. This was a favorite summertime activity growing up in Madison, Connecticut.

Conch is native to New England with two major species: the channel whelk or knobbed whelk (they taste the same). Most of the Conch in New England seafood markets is caught in low profile rectangular pots – baited and hauled after a few days. I used to catch them in lobster pots also. Most people threw them away but it is a tasty seafood with a distinctive flavor that is strong but sweet, depending upon cooking. In Connecticut you need a license to catch and sell them (CT Dept. of Agriculture Aquaculture Division)and a good size is 5 inches long point to point of the shell. You can capture up to a half bushel for personal use – check with local shellfish commissioners for any licensing requirements. Channel Whelk are the most common ones available in seafood stores sold under conks, conch or sometimes whelk. People of Italian American heritage call them scungilli and make a delicious marinated cold snail salad from them.

The conch chowder we prepared came in two variations with a blended chicken bullion base or a celery base,(an unblended 3rd version resembles a very strong clam chowder is an option also). We would start it as an old fashioned clam chowder but learned that its like flavor was a bit strong also; (chowder always gets stronger also after a couple of days in the refrigerator), and learned that most of this flavor comes from the broth not the meats. The meat is actually sweet so we would discard most of the broth as we prepared the chowder. We have served the chowder “straight” and people liked it, but after a few days the flavor got stronger. So we tried a couple of different versions with great success. One had a chicken stock base, and the other a can of condensed cream of celery soup. Either one can provide a delicious chowder – New England style.

These materials/ingredients weren’t available to Native Americans so we need to subtract today’s cooking conveniences. The very hard meats were excellent for stripping and smoking to dry – a jerky that could be held for several months. Its tough meats could be easily stripped and boiled in clay pots on an open fire or steamed as part of a bake.

Conch Chowder – Version 1 Chicken Stock –
Version 2 Celery Base
15-20 servings for each (Northern Species)

Conch chowder is a sweet tasting chowder – A favorite distinct flavor in southern states, especially Florida.

You will need 18 conch or 6-8 cups of ground conch – mince or chop – mix with 6 to 8 cups water and 2 cups of steamed broth and bring to a boil.

6-10 Potatoes – thin peel – chop into cubes, set aside. Dice 3-4 medium sized onions (Also if celery style 3-4 stalks of celery and 1 tablespoon of celery salt or one can of cream of celery soup) and if chicken style two chicken stock bullion cubes, 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning.

How to cook conch: scrub outside of shell to remove mud or excess sand – clean with vegetable brush, place 12-16 conchs in two inches of water in a large saucepan. Boil to steam 8-10 minutes. Broth will appear gray – similar to clam broth. Let cool – with a metal fork pull out the meat, it should come out of the shell and be attached to internal organs, which should be discarded. (The shell is empty when you can hear the ocean when holding it to your ear.) The footpad should have come off in the cooking process.

If you hold it up to the light you should be able to see rings like those for tree growth. The flesh next to the foot is especially tough and is not generally used, slice off the end to eliminate this tough portion. Cut off digestive organs and place cooked meat in a bowl, (use universal hand grinder or chop meats into small pieces for chowder base.) Save 2 cups of the steamed broth. What is the usable portion is a slight orange to cream color firm meat.

Place a ¼ pound of bacon, two 3”x 2” slices of salt pork (about) into medium sized skillet. Fry bacon and salt pork
– Add onions – cook and add 1 cup of water and boil up until onions caramelize but do not burn. Drain off excess fat and add mixture to conch and water – Do not clean skillet. Add 1 cup of water and return to heat – let simmer in skillet. With a wooden spoon cook off the bacon/onion flavor – it will appear as brown broth – add back to chowder base. (Set chowder base to boil – either chicken or celery versions.)
Set Chowder base to boil – (add chopped celery), two chicken stock bullion cubes or (1 can cream of celery soup and 1 teaspoon celery salt) Some people may add green beans or carrots.

Add diced potatoes to chowder – and cook until potatoes are tender – at this point add 4 cups of milk and a pat of butter (butter is optional)

Serve hot – with fresh ground black pepper on top. Add salt to taste

Note as with all chowders the broth becomes stronger after a few days – add additional milk to taste. Enjoy!

Cooking information – it is not necessary to cover the conch with boiling water – an inch or 2 in the bottom of a large pot can steam them open. (do not let dry however!)
• The organs will be darker and naturally pull away from the yellow orange meat.
• eight 5 to 6 inch conch will yield 2 cups of ground meats, (4 conch to the cup)it is surprising to see how much of the conch is edible – much more on a volume basis than clams)
• 2 cups of solid chunk meats will expand to 3 or more cups after grinding.

Conch will coil into the shell when cold; when brought to room temperature they will squirt and make sounds – that is natural.

* Use a fork to pull the meats from the shell after cooking. By pulling and twisting, the entire conch should come out.

Part III – Hardwood Fire Dirt/Stone Oven – Open Hearth – Indian Meal Cakes – Baking Stones

Conch/Potato Pancakes

1 cup ground conch
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg or 2 eggs ½ cup milk
1/2 cup ground corn meal – about more or less if baked or ½ cup Bisquick™ if skillet fried
1/4 cup Parsley
1/2 cup green or red pepper – crushed fine or chopped red pepper flakes to taste – (a little goes a long way) salt/pepper optional

Combine in large bowl potatoes conch, chopped pepper and two eggs – add cornmeal forming into a ball – mix in the milk, parsley and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes; add additional corn meal or Bisquick™ to build an easily formed flat cake – add to skillet with olive oil or bacon fat (butter or margarine also). Cook each side until brown. Serve hot.
Makes 6 to 8 four inch diameter cakes. If baked in a hot fire, wrap cake in tin foil or press between two large quahog clam (clean) shells then wrap with foil. This is the original stuffed clam.®

* Make certain the hardwood fire (oak) has a chance to burn down. Oak has a very strong smoke. Some people like it while others feel the smoke smell covers natural flavorings.

As with all food preparation activities thorough cooking is a must.

Seafood Stuffings

An early version of this stuffed clam from Rhode Island had a cornmeal ground clam cake between two clam shells wrapped with baling twine (for hay balers) a course natural fiber twine that actually burned in hot coals. This process also helped cook the food by trapping heat “ a small oven within an oven”. Oysters carried inland could travel as food because it had its own wrapping (shell) and were steamed open but also smoked. A version of this process can be found as oyster stuffing once a popular “stuffing” for Thanksgiving Day turkeys two centuries ago.

Introduction

The use of hot stones to cook ground meal cakes is one of the oldest methods to cook ground grains mixed with water. Some of the baking stone practice continues today with stone pizza ovens. Early recipes for corn bread and pan cakes include Indian meal as an in gradient in the late 1700s. A thick cake cooked on a hot stone surface is prevalent among coastal Native Americans and described many times in the historical literature. Conch was dried into a type of jerky and to reconstitute it, (make it soft again) it would need to be soaked and mashed. Ground cakes on a hot stone (one demonstration used a 3 inch thick slate) was quick and other than the water and the ingredients the technology “module) requiring a free and a thick relatively flat cooking stone and smaller stones for the support.

In this method the cooking is above the ground; a stone hearth is built not unlike the modern day grill. A fire “box” is created with a three sided stone hearth flat stones burned in the ground to elevate the top stone cooking surface, a fire is built below to heat the cooking (baking) stone above. A hot fire will be able to cause water to bounce off the stone, it is then hot enough for the cakes. A variant today of this conch grain mixture is cooked in hot oils, as “conch fritters”-

To draw properly the cooking stone has space for hot air to rise behind it, a concept that allows air to enter and exit.

Appendix

The ISSP Program and Capstone Project
The Connecticut Conch Fishery – A Study of Horseshoe Crab
and Conch Fisheries in Long Island Sound
The Rise of the Abundance of Conch (Busycon Canaliculatum)
in Long Island Sound with Warmer Temperatures
December 2011
Tim Visel, The Sound School
Sound School Supervising ISSP Project Teachers – October 2012
Barbara Mente – The Sound School
A Short Life History and Fisheries Description

During The Sound School Heritage Day a few years ago Sound School students learned about one of the Native Americans most favorite shellfish conch, or conch sometimes called by its proper name whelk. In Connecticut we have two types of conch, the channel whelk and its similar relative the knobbed whelk. The smooth or channel whelk can be found on banks, edges or in fact channels as it name implies. The knobbed whelk tends to live in the more open areas – the flats and bars offshore and moves deeper in marine sediments. Although not really shellfish (bivalves) in a strict sense they are snails, gastropods. The outer shell, chambered and spiraled grows with age and has a distinctive horn of plenty shape called the whorl. It is the shell when empty and clean youngsters hold to their ears to hear the sounds of the ocean. In times of relative warmth conch can sometimes be seen feasting on blue mussels clinging to rocks. More often they are in 5 to 25 feet of water.

In Connecticut’s past Native Americans cooked and consumed conch in large numbers – almost every shell deposit called middens examined along Connecticut’s Coast contain the remains of conch shells. They can be steamed boiled, dried and smoked, they tend to last a long time when preserved by drying. Conch remains a popular seafood item today and it is harvested along Connecticut’s entire shoreline. In times of heat, the channel whelk is more prevelant, in times of cold the knobbed whelk thrives. In the 1950s channeled whelk were scarce and knobbed whelk were caught mostly in trawls or bay scallop dredges (they do not trap as easy as the channeled whelk) as they burrow deep into sand looking for clams species thought to razor clams Quahogs and small surf clams. The channel whelk is more a surface opportunistic feeder and therefore traps better.

Beginning in 1998 the channel whelk population started to increase rapidly in Connecticut. Many fishermen believe the extended warm period has helped its increase. In 2008 large quantities of conch moved along the shoreline and tremendous numbers of small conch from 1 inch to 3 inches dramatically increased in shallow water especially between Old Saybrook and Branford.

The conch fishery has also rebounded from lows in the early 1970s of 50,000 lbs to over 450,000 lbs in 1981 but recent catches suggest much higher figures and a large number of juveniles along the Guilford, Clinton and Madison shorelines suggest increases in the years to follow. We may soon reach a million landed pounds and the June to October fishery averages 5 to 6 thousand/lbs/week per unit of effort. However, these are informed estimates as almost nothing is known about conch in Connecticut. Conversations suggest our catch from Long Island Sound New York also is more like 5 million lbs. Little is known pertaining to exact catches or landings. In a Marine Resources Management Plan for the State of Connecticut – CT DEP Bureau of Fisheries July 1984 containing this paragraph on page 97 as to its size and population.

“The condition of the conch population in LIS is unknown but it is thought to be abundant enough to sustain present levels of fishing. If the exploitation rate continues to increase, however, it is uncertain what effect it would have on the population, because knowledge of the species biology and population dynamics in LIS are unknown.” That lack of knowledge continues today not one report was located about the Long Island Sound Conch Fishery (2011).

Fortunately the increase of conch fishery has been a help to Connecticut lobstermen as a widespread habitat failure (die offs and massive disease outbreaks) have decimated recent lobster catches. Many lobster fishers have turned to the conch fishery to replace a significant loss of income. An unforeseen circumstance has the increase in conch fishery has caused a greater demand for its primary bait used in conch traps, horseshoe crabs. This has caused policy discussions between conservation and protection interests including another Sound School cooperative effort Project Limulus at Sacred Heart University. Horseshoe crab population declines has generated much concern/controversy chief among discussions about how horseshoe crabs benefit us and the environment, provide ecological services, a food source of eggs for migratory bird species and medicinal uses. This compares to the fact one female egg bearing crab may provide bait for up to four conch pots. Conch fishermen have tried substitute baits, pieces of sand shark, skate and most recently female blue crabs – each as its advantages and disadvantages. Substituting female blue crabs (primarily from Chesapeake Bay) may prove to be just as controversial. A reluctance to switch from highly productive baits to lesser baits is complicated from the competition aspect of this growing fishery. Some sources indicate that the increase in conch is connected to the recent increase in blue crab, a prey species. This connection is not yet confirmed, although a predator/prey relationship would not be surprising.

Conch Fishery –

Regulations – Massachusetts has set a 2.75” shell width minimum size while Rhode Island has established a 2.5” diameter and 4.5 shell length. In Connecticut residents may harvest up to 1/2 bushel day recreationally without restrictions. The commercial fishery has set a 5inch length (voluntary) size but it appears that other than a license from the Dept of Agriculture Aquaculture Division it has no landings restrictions or size requirements. There appears to be no regulated width or length measurement in Connecticut’s fishery. This is in part because conch over time have been known to be serious predators to both oysters and hard shell clams. In fact hard shell clammers at one time carried a flat iron bar to crack the conch shell to kill them.

We really don’t know how much about the conch populations in Connecticut or historical Long Island Sound Conch Fishery in general. A related study might be a help – Did Native Americans leave us a “habitat history” in their refuse shell middens. We might be able to reconstruct by comparing various shell middens to determine relative abundance.

Items for discussions –

The conch trap fishery – we don’t really have that much material, historical references to the early conch trap. We know that Native Americans set basket traps called pots for lobster and crabs in tidal creeks. These sub surface baited “pots” certainly could have attracted conch also. The basket lath would have been an excellent material, the conch foot could travel up the side and drop into such a basket which is very similar to the wood traps used today. Conch have acutely sensitive chemical receptor cells that can detect chemical fractions of decaying fish molecules up to 200 feet away dependent upon current and tide conditions.

The basic trap principle remains consistent – a combination of chemical draw, the bait and gravity, the conch foot (suction) allows it the climb the vertical lath reach the top and fall or enter the trap. After feeding the escape route is blocked by a taught strong twine or the material used to string tennis rackets “cat gut” placed 1.5 to 2.0 inches from the top edge. This twine will cause the foot to break suction and by doing so fall back into the trap. Another explanation is that years ago a wooden lobster pot front funnels – built from lath made conch move accessible to by catch in the lobster fishery, this developed in the “Martha’s Vineyard” type trap. In fact, most of the local conch available was used as a bait and caught with hermit crabs, as lobster fishery by catch. A third explanation and one that appears to be the one most plausible is that discarded wood milk crates were often used to wet store oysters and clams in shallow areas and that conch were observed climbing up the sides to attack the stored shellfish (Cape Cod).

This explanation does have some merit, the oldest conch traps were the same size of milk crates but appears to increase in size only slightly and used red oak post and spreader frames of the lobster trap design. Vertical lath – the same width and thickness as once used in the lobster pot industry but that has changed I have recently seen conch pots with lath – now thin planks five to eight inches wide – no doubt to case conch climbing. The pots were always weighted, first stones and now much more often poured formed concrete. The basic type has not altered since the 1950s when the first references to the fishery occur – 20 to 24” inches square (some larger) twelve (12) inches high (some higher). The pot (trap) is hauled singly with a bridle to a line and buoy (similar to lobstering). It is a single pot fishery, as hauling requires a straight vertical retrieve – a trip could spill some or most of the contents. In the 1960s a new type of trap developed in the Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard fishery. Here a modified lobster pot – two chambers with an open top is used. The traditional Connecticut oak frame lath trap measures 20 x 22 posts 20” spreaders 22” and 10 inches high about one inch between each vertical lath.

Bait – again the historical review is thin at best but the favored bait is a female egg bearing horseshoe crab. No doubt the eggs are protein/rich and several species of migratory shore birds also lists these as favored prey. The truth is as scavengers conch will eat almost any rotting fish or crab flesh, and a dead horseshoe crab covered by adult conch would have been hard to miss. We can’t dismiss that even Native Americans may have noticed this also and staked out horseshoe crabs to attract conch into shallows for hand picking. The preferred bait remains female horse shoe crabs but as mentioned before opened the debate upon habitat value and ecological roles. Other baits have been used – sea robins, skate, shark waste and trim gurry (fillet wastes) with good results but nothing as good as horseshoe crabs. Female blue crabs come in a close second, and a mixture of fish and blue crab is a good bait, second to horseshoe crab which have become scarce and command much higher prices. Conch is undergoing dramatic shifts in the market and soon will reach global exchange. Most conch species including the most famous Queen conch Lobatus gigas have been over fished. Long Island Sound is one of the few areas capable of conch harvests. Recent years have seen reviewed fishery efforts and some concerns expressed by conch fishermen over the management of this fishery.

The Conch Fishery History –

Surprisingly we know very little about the early New England conch fisheries, up until 1920, very few reports even mention them. While clams had been used it seems since the Mayflower touched Cape Cod – reports of a conch fishery occur just next to Boston and New York apparently in response to large immigration of central and southern Europeans shortly before World War I. In the Italian culture conch salad, called scungilli is a prized delicacy and a special dish served at holidays. And I must agree it is outstanding, I have had it many times – sliced cold seasoned conch is a special treat. It is tough to prepare however but versatile in hot and cold dishes. I have made conch chowder and conch fritters like clam cakes but one of those hand crank turn of the century meat grinders is a good companion for many recipes. But it is delicious, nonetheless and according to recent magazine articles is no longer regarded as an ethnic food but has become more mainstream. Some may still flinch when it is referred to as a snail (which is correct) but those who like old fashioned Quahog clam chowder – clear broth no milk or cream will love conch chowder. A creamed conch stew is also available and compares very well to the old fashioned oyster stew. But it never has enjoyed the popularity of quahogs or oysters and in the 1930s, 1940s most of the conch could incidental to the lobster fishery was thrown overboard or used as black fish bait. Until recently it was termed the forgotten shellfish. That is no longer is the case however since 1970 the price of conch pound to the fishermen has soared.

1970 – 5 cents a pound 65 lbs bushel $3 to 4 dollars/bushel
1980 – 20 cents $13 to 15 dollars/bushel
1990 – 40 cents $26 to 30 dollars/bushel
2000 – 70 cents $45 to 50 dollars/bushel
2010 – 1.10/lb* $70 to 80 dollars/bushel
2011 – 1.40/lb* $100 to 110 dollars/bushel

*Some retail markets list live in shell conch at 2.99 lb or close to 200/bushel at the retail level. Larger conch are easier to clean/prepare and to yield even a higher so price differences can occur by grading as large or selects – or to regular/market sizes.

Why the surge in prices? Quite simply other sources of conch have dried up. I recall a delicious bowl of conch chowder, red base/highly spiced in Bermuda many years ago and after some vigorous arm twisting come to find out the native conch Queen Conch Lobutus gigas had been tremendously over fished so for the tourist market (me) these has been come from a place in Rhode Island called Narragansett Bay, less than an hour from my home. The Queen conch is now protected over much of its natural range habitat. A 2004 Seafood Watch™ report from Monterey Bay Aquarium (final May 5, 2004) by Alice Cascorbi provides one of the reasons the Queen conch is so vulnerable to over fishing it takes 4 to 5 years for a conch to sexually mature and lives 20 years or more. While tremendously fecund and an average conch lays 250,000 eggs in a loose unprotected egg mass. Populations depend upon larger conch remaining predator free, protected by an immense heavy shell. The attrition of young as with most marine species is extremely high and in some cases opened the door to aquaculture by the collection and raising of wild eggs. With this long life cycle over fishing can be a constant problem/concern. Our conch species seems to have two advantages over the Queen conch and related species instead of an unprotected string of eggs the channeled whelk (Busycon canaliculatum) protects its eggs in a chain of semi transparent egg capsules each capsule containing about 80 to 100 eggs. It grows quicker and sexually matures in 3 years and can live 10 years. Our conch does well in storm free periods – continuous storms in warm weather have been known to dislodge them and wash them up on the beach. It likes warm weather but not hot and storm free winters. Not one Connecticut article or report has been located that talks about our two conch species. No recent studies have been started although fishermen have asked recently about them in response to finding huge increases in small immature conch in their commercial traps – 2 to 3 inch lengths.

Sometimes 20 to 40 per trap in some areas, others completely filling “box” traps. The decline in lobsters and rapid increase in conch has raised habitat questions – why?

Some Research Questions (from fishermen)

- How long does it take for conch to reach market size?
- When do they begin to lay eggs?
- How come the knobbed whelks pots so infrequently?
- Do knobbed whelks and channel whelks compete for the same food? (Bait
preference or differences)
- When we catch so many small conch have we over fished the adults?
- Is anyone working with experimental baits (other than crabs)?

Students interested in this capstone project should contact state and federal agencies for research information or previous reports, they include;

EPA – Long Island Sound Study – Stamford, CT
NOAA – Marine Fisheries Laboratory – Milford, CT
The CT Dept of Agriculture/Aquaculture Division, Milford, CT
(Currently licenses commercial conch fishers).
The CT Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection
Office of Long Island Sound Programs, Hartford, CT
The CT Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection
Division of Marine Fisheries, Old Lyme, CT
The University of Connecticut Sea Grant College Program
Sea Grant Office, Groton, CT (Avery Point)

For more information about the Horseshoe Crab – please contact Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT – Project Limulus at info@projectlimulus.com

Students should obtain a dozen or so conch – under (1/2 bushel per day no in CT no license required) and secure a small recirculation system tank. Egg cases can be collected along beaches after storms for maturation studies. Lobster fishers frequently find egg case conch “necklaces” washed into traps and that can be a possible source. John Roy may have some lobster V Notch study participants that can help. The oyster industry for decades has destroyed conch egg cases (personal observations Long Island Oyster Farms 1970s) in a bucket of chlorine or ammonia treated water to kill them. Conch have long been known to be serious oyster predators and thus this old practice. Today hatching out recovered egg cases may represent an opportunity to raise and sell seeds.

The bait study will require setting and hauling about 10 conch pots used in the commercial fishery. A poster, PowerPoint and paper should be negotiated work products with appropriate rubrics/benchmark time lines. For more information about Capstone Projects see your advisors.

For more information about credit independent study with ISSP see Barbara Mente, ISSP Coordinator in The Sound School Library.

Sketches/plans for conch pots are available, see Steve Joseph. He has secured a lobster pot type trap and measurements will be taken shortly. Lobster pot material left from The Sound Summer Exploring Aquaculture projects would be perfect. Oak stock is still available from Connecticut sawmills.
I respond to all emails at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us
Program reports are available upon request.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Imitative or for reports, please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator, at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

The Sound School is a Regional High School Agriculture Science and Technology Center enrolling students from 23 participating Connecticut communities.