KINGSTON, Jamaica — In issuing a reminder that lobster season has closed, Agriculture Minister, Floyd Green, is encouraging Jamaicans to eat conch.

Speaking at a cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, Green shared that lobster’s off season is a perfect opportunity to enjoy locally caught conch.

“So, while we are in the closed season for lobster, the good news is that we’re in the open season for conch, so please you might love lobster, try conch. Conch season would have started the first of March 2024,” said Green.

Green used the occasion to stress the importance of closed seasons for preserving the viability of the industry.

“We are now in the closed season for lobster. I know we all love our lobster, but again if we don’t have these closed seasons then we won’t have an industry to protect for years to come. And as such we do a closed season for lobster and conch to ensure that during the times that they reproduce, that they have the necessary protection,” said Green.

According to Green, there have been on-going efforts to strengthen the nation’s Fisheries Authority, with the authority now having a larger cadre of extension and compliance officers.

“I’ve said to the team, just as our farmers are used to RADA as the entity that they turn to when they have challenges, when they are looking for technical support, the National Fisheries Authority will be that avenue for our fishers. And as such we have been enhancing our extension services — yes, we will have extension services in our fisheries sector and we’ve been enhancing our compliance officers,” he said.

“Over the course of last year we were able to do 900 site visits across critical locations to provide fisheries oversight and that includes our fishing beaches, marinas, restaurants, tournaments, sea food stores, rivers, fish farms. It is a comprehensive approach to ensure that we monitor and also that we enforce our regulations,” he added.

It is estimated that the local conch industry reels in revenues of about US$8 million annually.