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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesCONCH LOVERS TAKE HEART

CONCH LOVERS TAKE HEART

Wholesalers, restaurant operators, commercial fisherman and seafood lovers will not have to eliminate all stock of conch prior to the start of the closed season on July 1 as was stated by Planning and Natural Resources in a June 23 press release. (See story below "Closed season for conch/whelk.")
On Tuesday, DPNR Commissioner Dean C. Plaskett issued a statement which included the text of a 1997 amendment to previously enacted law which required a total ban on conch and whelks, including imported product, during the closed season.
The law says "the sale and transportation of any species of fish that is included in the closed season is permitted during the closed season if such fish is imported from outside the U.S. Virgin Islands or caught and stored prior to the closed season."
Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole raised concern that DPNR was not enforcing the amended law when he heard radio reports of the original press statement announcing a total ban on conch.
Persons needing additional information on the regulations should contact DPNR's division of enforcement at 774-3320.

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