Key West Snorkeling » Lobsters and Crabs

Queen Conch

kat — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:49:28 +0000

This is a Queen Conch, shell plus conch inside. The underside is beautiful pink fading to cream colored glossy lining while the outside is sand-colored and blends in with the bottom of the ocean floor. It isn’t nice to take the shell plus conch out of the ocean, but I had to get a picture. You cannot harvest conch meat in Key West, even though you see it for sale in restaurants . “Conch fritters” appear on almost every menu and are considered a local specialty.

The conch itself is like a crab, and sits way inside the shell. you can see his claw if you look closely at the crevice in the shell. It’s a mollusk, also the second most well-known snail in the world, after escargot from France.

The shells are sold in tourist shops in Key West, but since harvesting Conchs is illegal, these shells come from Haiti. So, if you’re in town doing some Key West snorkeling and you come across a Queen Conch, admire it but leave it there.

Backcountry Snorkeling in Key West

kat — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:03:46 +0000

Recently the vis on the Gulf side has been super clear, so we tried some backcountry snorkeling. Usually, if you go north out of Key West the water is murkier and greener than on the Atlantic side. For just a few days, however, it cleared up and we got to see what’s in the water out there. Turns out there are some nice coral patches that look very healthy. Take a look.

[View with PicLens]

Conch Shells

kat — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:25:06 +0000

Close-up of a Conch Shell

Went Snorkeling today and although the visibility was not at all very good, we did see some interesting things, as usual. Here you can see conch shells lying about in the sea grass. This is where you’ll almost always find conch shells, so when you happen to be in an otherwise “dead” area, that is, no coral or other types of structure, sea grass can sometimes mean you’ll find conch shells!.

You can’t harvest conch these days, since it’s illegal. Yes, the conch fritters you see on the menus in Key West restaurants is imported. The shells you see have crabs living in them, or conchs. They’re meaty and shy, so if you pick up a conch shell, he’ll slowly withdraw into the shell and seal it up tight with a foot-type broad flat part of his body. Better not to disturb them, just to look and take pictures like I did.