Vancouver Company Convicted of Queen Conch Smuggling

Environment News Service 9 Jan 08;

Over 54,000 pounds, or 27 tons, of Queen conch meat was unlawfully exported to the United States by this operation.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, January 9, 2008 (ENS) - An 18 month long investigation into trafficking of meat from the endangered Caribbean Queen conch into Florida has resulted in a British Columbia company being fined a Canadian record high wildlife fine of over $78,000.

On Friday, Pacific Marine Union Corporation entered a guilty plea in Vancouver Provincial Court to two counts under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act and was fined a total of $78,566.94.

The Environmental Damages Fund will receive $10,000 of that amount. The fund, administered by Environment Canada, provides the courts with a way to direct fine monies to restore and protect the environment.

The charges were a result of Operation Shell Game, an 18 month investigation into the unlawful import and export of Queen conch. The investigation involved Canadian wildlife officers in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia as well as special agents from both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Law Enforcement in New York and Florida.

Investigators determined that in January of 2005, Pacific Marine Union unlawfully exported two shipments of Queen conch to Caribbean Conch, Inc. of Hialeah, Florida.

Then, between July 2005 and March 2006, Pacific Marine Union Corporation unlawfully imported five shipments of Queen conch meat from Haiti - declared as either "clams" or "whelk." The meat was then repackaged and relabelled as "whelk meat," a non-endangered species, and exported to Caribbean Conch, Inc., in Florida.

Over 54,000 pounds, or 27 tons, of Queen conch meat was unlawfully exported to the United States by this operation.

Environment Canada wildlife officer Patrick Porter told the "Vancouver Sun" that the conch, which can sell for about $40 per kilogram, would have been worth close to $1 million after resale. The meat is a delicacy featured on many restaurant menus.

The Queen conch lives in sand, seagrass bed, and coral reef habitats in warm, shallow water throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Queen conch abundance is declining throughout the species' range as a result of overfishing and poaching.

Endangered species of animals and plants, such as Queen conch, are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES. The Queen conch and their meat and shells are therefore protected under the laws of both countries.

Environment Canada is the lead agency responsible for implementing CITES on behalf of the government of Canada. CITES sets controls, through a permit system, on the international trade and movement of animal and plant species that are endangered, or have been, or may be, threatened due to excessive commercial exploitation.