Chuck Hesse, Director of Tradewind Industries Ltd established a conch farm in TCI in 1984 to produce juvenile queen conch for re-sale and for stock restoration. The conch is shipped live or fresh to upscale restaurants in the US where it receives rave reviews and according to Hesse “this has allowed us to command an exceptional price for
the product.”
Current inventory stands at 5.5 million conch, 1 million units are exported a year, all produced from 10 acres of land and 60 acres of subsea pastures.
Why are you successful?
Our conch is sweeter and more tender than others - the fact we export live or fresh means better quality to our customers.
Why is TCI a good location?
Tradewinds chose to invest here because of the clean water, competent trainable Belongers and history of conch in TCI. The government has always been very supportive of mariculture. TCInvest helped us to secure 5 more acres for expansion and has helped us throughout our development and through Government processes.
Fishing in the islands has been a mainstay of the economy since the time of the first human inhabitants and is still a major part of people's lives in South Caicos in particular.
With the end of the salt industry, fishing became even more essential. The two most important species caught in the islands are the spiny lobster, which is actually a crawfish, and the conch. The conch, a good source of protein, is especially significant as it has been over-fished in the rest of the world and there is a restricted supply in the Bahamas
and Bermuda.
Fishing became the main industry of the Turks and Caicos Islands following the decline of the salt industry. However the fishing industry saw its economic importance consistently reduced in the 1990's due to over-fishing and the emergence of more attractive employment opportunities for islanders. At this point the TCI Government began working with the fishermen in the islands to improve conservation techniques and to expand the variety of opportunities for
value-added processing.
However after the turn of the Millennium, export prices started to rebound, reflecting increasing conch prices on international markets and higher value exports from
the world's only conch farm, Providenciales.
The fisheries sector still remains important on the island of South Caicos in particular. There are currently 3 seafood processing plants on the islands. However, the sector's export potential is constrained by a CITES quota, which limits exports from the main conch fisheries in recognition of the need to protect the long-term viability of the industry.
The government is
keen to encourage investments that could lay the basis of a scale fishing industry.
For visitors interested in fishing, the Turks and Caicos Islands offers variety second to none, from deep sea fishing to bonefishing. Potential developers could consider increasing the sport fishing watersports activity which has proved popular over the years. A good place to start would be to attend the Annual Bill Fishing Catch and Release Tournament in Provo, which attracts hundreds of competitors from all over the world to the Turks and Caicos waters.
Scale fisheries represent enormous potential in the Turks and Caicos Islands. A variety of species of fish, including shark, snapper, grouper, jack, bonefish and tarpon are found in the waters of our islands.
Opportunities in the areas of shrimp farming using salinas on the former salt producing islands or South Caicos, Grand Turk and Salt Cay, are available for interested investors. Other options for mari-culture are also being pursued and ideas are welcome in this area.
The greatest potential in these areas lies in the production of high value, value-added and specialty exported products. Some examples include: fish farming for tilapia and other fin fish, shrimp farming in abandoned salinas, tropical fish breeding facilities, hydroponic gardening, tropical produce specialty farms and ornamental horticulture. In the 90s some research was even been conducted to develop a subsea aragonite mining operation.
Policy Highlight
The Turks and Caicos Government has certain specific offshore areas that can be used for select and controlled Mariculture projects.
The TCI Government is committed to seeing the islands used to enhance the living standards of Belongers by providing crown land for commercial and residential development. All development must encourage Belonger participation in the economy, benefit the Belonger population, facilitate development in the Islands and enhance the community as a whole.
The world’s only Conch Farm established in 1984 still presents an excellent example of what is possible in the Turks and Caicos Islands. By combining marine biology and technology with TCI’s natural environment and premium transportation links, a new mariculture industry was born.
The Conch Farm provides visitors each year with a unique experience, seeing the growth process for conch and even meeting two tame conch who are always keen to come out of
their shells.
