By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Recent conch poisoning has placed a “damper” on business at Arawak Cay, with less than 25 percent of vendors presently selling conch salad and other dishes based on the fish.

Rodney Russell, the Arawak Cay Association’s president, told Tribune Business that only five vendors now sell conch salad out of the 20-plus restaurants located at the popular fish fry destination. Many of those businesses remain closed and, of the nine who re-opened after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, only five are operating now.

Mr Russell said: “Due to the damper that the conch poisoning has put on Arawak Cay, it has now reached its lowest point where some conch salad places are closed. We’re not faring well out here at all.”

Several reports of conch poisoning emerged at the end of April, prompting officials to warn consumers about the dangers associated with eating conch that has not been properly cleaned.

Mr Russell said: “There is no problem with cracked conch, because it is cooked and the heat kills the bacteria that causes the conch poisoning. But this is primarily an issue with raw conch made for conch salad, as often times vendors still wash their conch with salt water even though they are encouraged not to because salt water carries the bacteria. We tell our vendors to wash the conch in fresh water to kill off some of the bacteria if they prepare conch salad.”

The vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria was confirmed by health officials as the same bacteria that affected dozens of people in 2018.

Conch poisoning happens every year around summer, Mr Russell said. “But this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has hit the vendors especially hard. It’s like a double whammy. They are wondering what will happen to them next? Hopefully not a hurricane, too,” he added.

“From the onset of the conch poisoning several businesses have closed. They don’t want people coming to them saying that they were poisoned by their stall; that they had conch and were poisoned. We still have people coming to Arawak Cay for cooked food, but other than that things are quiet.”

Mr Russell, who is primarily a conch salad vendor himself, said, “Conch salad is down at the moment and I expect it to be down all summer after the news broke about conch poisoning. The restaurants with cooked conch, there is no problem with that. There is a problem with the raw conch.

“Not only do you have individual conch salad vendors like myself, but we have persons who rent small booths outside of the larger restaurants who have had to close up. That means there is no rent for the landlord.”

He added: “We have four or five open.They are open expecting customers to come, but they only sell maybe two or three conch salads a day. Conch is not a preference anymore, because people are now only making one conch salad a day now, they have gone from selling 25 a day to now one conch salad a day,” said Mr Russell.