Conchs have fed the people of the Caribbean for a very long time. They were a staple of the Amerindian diet. They are easy to dive for in the shallow water and once you get the hang of cleaning them, they can be easy to prepare and very tasty to eat and provide a high quality protein. Humans are not the only predator of conch. Spotted eagle rays, octopus and starfish are known to prey on conch. The rays use their powerful jaws to crack the conch shell. Starfish insert a leg into the conch shell. And because the operculum does not entirely close the shell, the octopus can get a leg in and invert their own stomach and digest the conch. Octopus have the eight leg and suction cup advantage and pull the conch out and eat them on the spot.
Conch shells are used for horns and many Caribbean towns use the blast of a conch trumpet to signal the arrival of fresh fish. Slaves used conch horns to communicate from hill to hill. Some cruisers use the blast of a conch shell to signal a setting sun. Conch shells are used for house and fence building, and for jewelry. In the Bahamas men eat the ‘pistol’, which is the long gelatinous tube of the penis. They firmly believe this will increase their sexual powers.
Conch are a renewable resource, but the harvest must not exceed the recuritment.
