Trade

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) is a highly appreciated seafood delicacy with important non-food uses, including therapeutical products and handicrafts. While global demand is booming, small-scale coastal producers in the Eastern Caribbean do not fully seize the opportunities offered by sustainable conch markets. In 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – with the support of the European Union and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – joined forces to design a pilot project to test the application of the revised UNCTAD BioTrade1 Principles and Criteria (UNCTAD, 2020)2 to the marine environment, focusing on the queen conch value chain in the countries of Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This case study presents the value chain analysis of queen conch production in Saint Lucia. It builds on a stakeholder map of the queen conch value chain of Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, produced as part of the Blue BioTrade project.3 It is the first of three country case studies to be produced under the Blue BioTrade Project, together with forthcoming studies of queen conch production in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. These case studies, in addition to a regional workshop, will contribute towards the development of a regional Blue BioTrade Action Plan in 2022. This report is divided into eight chapters. Chapter I provides an introduction and overview of the approach taken by the case study. Chapter II analyses the regulatory frameworks, management plans and institutional frameworks in Saint Lucia as they relate to the queen conch. Chapter III provides a product assessment, looking at Saint Lucian queen conch biology and stock location. Chapter IV analyses the value chain, examining its economic features during the pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest stages. Chapter V presents an initial assessment of current market access and potential entry points to various potential markets of queen conch products. Chapter VI outlines the main challenges faced by the value chain. It is followed by chapter VII, which outlines opportunities to address these challenges using the BioTrade Principles and Criteria as a guideline. Finally, the report ends by providing recommendations and conclusions in chapter VIII.

With the support of the EU-funded TradeCom Facility, the OECS Secretariat initiated the Legislative Drafting Services for Trade Negotiations and Policy Formulation Project. Its purpose included assisting the OECS Member States to
accelerate the pace at which they have been implementing their international trade obligations as participants of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and to begin to put in place the legislative and regulatory framework necessary to take full advantage of the opportunities and to meet their commitments under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.

Queen conch is a highly appreciated seafood delicacy with important non-food uses, including therapeutical products and handicrafts. While global demand is booming, small-scale coastal producers in the Eastern Caribbean do not fully seize the opportunities offered by sustainable conch markets. In 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) joined forces to design a pilot project to test the application of the revised UNCTAD BioTrade1 Principles and Criteria (2020)2 to the marine environment, focusing on the queen conch value chain in the countries of Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In the preparation of case studies on the queen conch value chains in beneficiary countries and working towards the development of a Blue BioTrade Action Plan for the OECS, UNCTAD has worked to produce a map of stakeholders in the queen conch value chain in the three participating countries and an initial scoping of opportunities and challenges that will be further explored to improve environmental and economic outcomes.

UNCTAD defines “BioTrade” as “…the activities of collection/production, transformation and commercialisation of goods and services derived from native nbiodiversity under criteria of environmental, social and economic sustainability”. Based on best practices, lessons learned and the successes of BioTrade’s 26 years of implementation in nearly 100 countries, and building on international mandates
and agreements on the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources, the emerging concept of Blue BioTrade has considerable potential to promote sustainability and equity in the production of marine-based goods and services, subject to the following minimum eligibility requirements

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) or “lambi” is a large marine shellfish renowned as one of the Caribbean’s most iconic and valuable fishery resources strongly linked to the region’s culture and economy. As a result of uncontrolled harvesting and illegal landings, the queen conch was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1992, which means that its international trade is regulated to ensure it is legal, sustainable, and traceable.

The Eastern Caribbean States acknowledge that achieving sustainable trade of queen conch at the value chain level can promote environmental, social, and economic development in the region, as well as lay the foundations for best practices in other ocean economy value chains.