Bahamas: Sea snails make themselves scarce in paradise
Overfishing of the seas is becoming an ever greater problem for sea snail fishermen in the Bahamas. In the search for solutions, the people in the Caribbean state are relying on a lot of creativity.
Tradition of snail fishermen
Tereha Davis is a fifth-generation snail fisher, and her family lives off marine animals. Here, she shows her 8-year-old granddaughter Ivory how to gut a fish. Ivory's brother, 6-year-old Ira, watches intently. Davis can still remember times when she only had to walk a few meters into the sea from the beach and could pick up the sea snails from the bottom.
Further and further out...
In recent years, the situation for mussel and snail fishers has worsened dramatically. Today, they have to travel up to 48 kilometers (about 30 miles) out to sea to catch the popular animals. Here, a fishing boat moors in West End, off Grand Bahama Island, next to two mountains of discarded mussel shells.
More than a delicacy
The mollusks are a staple food in the Bahamas — smoked, fried or eaten raw. They stand for the island nation like no other symbol and are an important pillar of the economy and the tourism industry. Of the approximately 400,000 inhabitants of the Bahamas, 9,000 people make their living from mussel fishing — about 2% of the population.
Small big catch
Henry Carey holds up sea snails he collected during a dive off the coast of McLean's Town. The queen conch, or "cone fencer snail," is an important food source and can grow up to 3 feet (nearly a meter) long. It lives for about 30 years, if allowed to grow in peace.
Using creativity against overfishing
Leroy Glinton shows off some of the jewelry he makes from discarded snail shells. He owns a small studio and hopes to promote his art with the shells. If more money could be made from each mollusk, he hopes, the pressure on fisheries could be reduced — and the stock could recover over time.
Lining up for sea snails
Customers line up to grab a delicious and filling meal from Sherica Smith at her mussel and snail stand, Shabo's, in West End. While mussels can be very expensive in the US or Europe, in the Bahamas they're available on every street corner. A meal can be had for under $10 (around €9) — less than the price of many meats on the island.
Shells for sale
Street markets, like this one at a cruise terminal in Freeport, offer shells as decoration, but also jewelry or spoons made from them. The sea snail also appears on numerous flags, T-shirts and hats, and sales are brisk. Life in the Bahamas without shells would be hard to imagine.