local harvest

Conch and Whelk

the Delectable Delicacies

Story and Photos by Eliza Magro 

 

Conch Shell

In the Virgin Islands conch and whelks are a bit like cheese steak in Philadelphia — well loved and much consumed.
Served particularly at the various festival events and during carnival, these delectable sea creatures are frequently served in a butter sauce with common local side dishes like fungi, vegetables and beans and rice.  

Conch and whelk are served in a variety of ways. Some cooks like to stew their conch, while others make a soup or chowder. Conch fritters are also another rendition — a wonderful, crispy, hot snack.

We can’t forget to mention the conch pate either, which is easy to grab and take to the beach. If you’re not on the run and you’re going home for a nice dinner, curried conch is another flavorful, culinary solution.

Whelks are usually served in a gravy with beans and rice, however one local woman said she cuts them little, marinates them raw in a vinegar sauce and creates a type of ceviche dish.

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Whelk shells

 

Whelks also make a very hearty, flavorful soup. Whelks in cream sauce over rice or pasta is a gourmet style of serving.
Both whelk and conch meat can be very tough and require tenderizing before seasoning, cooking and serving. Many people boil the meat to a softness of personal liking. Others pressure cook the meat St. John Tradewinds

In the Virgin Islands conch and whelks are a bit like cheese steak in Philadelphia — well loved and much consumed.
Served particularly at the various festival events and during carnival, these delectable sea creatures are frequently served in a butter sauce with common local side dishes like fungi, vegetables and beans and rice. 

Conch and whelk are served in a variety of ways. Some cooks like to stew their conch, while others make a soup or chowder. Conch fritters are also another rendition — a wonderful, crispy, hot snack.

We can’t forget to mention the conch pate either, which is easy to grab and take to the beach. If you’re not on the run and you’re going home for a nice dinner, curried conch is another flavorful, culinary solution.

Whelks are usually served in a gravy with beans and rice, however one local woman said she cuts them little, marinates them raw in a vinegar sauce and creates a type of ceviche dish.

Whelks also make a very hearty, flavorful soup. Whelks in cream sauce over rice or pasta is a gourmet style of serving.
Both whelk and conch meat can be very tough and require tenderizing before seasoning, cooking and serving. Many people boil the meat to a softness of personal liking. Others pressure cook the meat to achieve the soft tender consistency people enjoy. 

It is a lot of work to serve both conch and whelk. They must be harvested, de-shelled, cleaned, tenderized, seasoned and then cooked. Prices for whelk and conch reflect the labor involved in harvesting and preparing them.

Conch is usually less expensive than whelk ranging from $15 to $18 for a plate or about $6 a pound — out of the shell — directly from the fisherman. Whelk is usually at least $22 a plate or about $10 a pound directly from the fisherman.

Conch and whelk are becoming more like a rare cut of filet mignon here in the Virgin Islands. The legal harvesting season for these tasty shellfish has recently been revised and shortened due to a decreased population and over fishing.

The whelk season is closed from April 1 to September 30. Until this year, the conch season was usually closed from July 1 to September 30, however, due to the depleted resources, the closure has been extended until January 1, 2008.

Fishermen, particularly in St. Croix waters, have landed conch harvests which exceeded estimated sustainable levels by three to four times according to Jamal Neilsen, spokesperson for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Due to the rapidly decreasing population of conch in local waters, the annual harvest is now capped at 50,000 pounds of conch from St. Croix waters.

There is still no limit on the amount of conch and whelk one can harvest from St. Thomas and St. John waters. There are size regulations however. Whelk must be 62 mm long or two and 7/16 inches in diameter, while conch must have a minimum shell length of nine inches and 3/8-inch lip thickness.

The Two Fisheries Advisory’s Committee will meet at the end of October to discuss fishing regulations within the U.S. Virgin Islands and to create quotas which will re-define local fishing regulations.
The committee aims to re-evaluate the V.I.’s fishing regulations in anticipation of changing Federal laws, explained Rafe Boulon, the VINP Chief of Resource Management.

Commercial fisherman are required to report their landings, which will be more regulated and enforced in the future.
Like most treasures in our world, whelk and conch are becoming more and more of a delicacy, dishes for special occasions and celebrations. But they continue to be served year-round by several locals, who keep it fresh and frozen.

One local restaurant where conch remains on the menu year-round is SoGo’s, in Cruz Bay. SoGo’s is owned and operated by Alfred Augustine and his wife Velth, originally from Dominica, living on St. John sine 1972. The Augustines’ have run SoGo’s restaurant for the past 17 years, relocating the restaurant from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay 10 years ago. They now have a faithful clientele and consistently serve conch. 

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Alfred Augustine, owner of SoGo’s restaurant, cooks a conch plate in his kitchen.

 

Alfred slices his conch in long strips and puts a little water in a pot with slices of onion, crushed garlic and salt. The conch was pressure cooked for about two hours, before Alfred tossed the sliced meat into the bubbling pot on the stove.

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Simmering conch

 

After the conch cooks for about eight minutes, Alfred adds his “conch sauce” to the mix, which is liquid from the conch, roux, and spices. The sauce cooks with the conch and creates a smooth, creamy gravy, which completes the meal.

Alfred serves his conch creation with steamed carrots, fungi, mashed potatoes, rice and beans, fried plantains, and a small fried biscuit or johnny cake.

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Full plate of conch and traditionall West Indian side dishes.

 

“Presentation is the most important factor,” he said with satisfaction.

The plate of food is a myriad of local flavors, showcasing the Virgin Islands prized and loved conch.