Quit taking the mature breeders, a thick lipped conch is mature & she will lay many egg masses a year. Every trip I make I see many many pick-up trucks loaded up with mature thick lipped conch in the hundreds!!! You wont get milk if you kill the dairy cow.
Management is simple:
1. Cut back on number of legal commercial conch fishermen, those catching to sell, not the guy providing conch for his family.
2. Monitor & penalize if you are selling without a commercial license.
3. Set a Standard, Enforce & Adhere to it. Size & Quantity is easiest & most common.
I would add a short "shell thickness measure device" made from plastic, carried while you dive, if lip is thicker than 5/16" (or1/2") leave it to produce more conch for you later.
4. Educate, educate. a conch takes 4-5 years for sexual maturity! Longer than a cow's 2yrs. Mature conch can live 50+ yrs evidenced by a very very thick lip).
As a conch grows, they are creating their colorful shell on the inside where the meat is not on the outside, thus their living space inside the shell grows smaller as they age.
An old very thick lipped mature conch will have tough hard meat from many many years of dragging that shell around. she is reproducing, let her go.

On-island Bahamians need to quit looking in the mirror and feeling sorry for yourselves as the world passes you by. It will & is.
All islands have the same challenges, nothing new. Research what others have done to resolve these, while reviewing what mistakes were made by others.
Foreign located Bahamians would love to come Home, if they had opportunities to be contributors to society, as they are wherever they are now.
Break the mirror, no bad luck!

That 'foreigner' has been a resident of Freeport for over 35+ years, employing/training many (100's) Bahamians in the process. Disrespect is not becoming of your understandable concerns.

So now I must be certain my visiting friends must have a return ticket to their point of entry (Nassau here) while they cruise the out islands with me? If we cruise to Freeport, can that 'Bimini return to Nassau' ticket be exchanged for an equal value in the 'Freeport return to Nassau' ticket?
Not conducive nor convenient for visitor inter-island travels. I imagine the out-island communities will feel deprived.
No cash is a fair warning sign, did they not have credit cards? I do not travel with much cash, using atms as I go.

A very interesting, though simplified, response to a common issue throughout the world.
We will never get out of this pattern by ignoring it & repeating it. https://www.facebook.com/jerseydemic/vi…
Wise up Nation!

The problem is that Government or GBPA will not disclose the True 'cost' or 'benefit' of Freeport to The Bahamian economy. Any whistle blowers with that information out there?
If the economy of Freeport fails, it is a major 'cost' & reason to do away with HCA, so do not expect government to do more than marginal. It baffles me what the PA gets beyond job security, nice retainer & location for a wintering tax-free fiefdom.
(The tax-free concept is longtime lost with the high duties, property tax, VAT & expensive business fees.)

I have spent many hours in ER s' with associate's injuries, only in South Americas far-out-country hospitals have I experienced anything similar to what this lady did in GB!
The remote mountain villages of Peru (a very poor 3rd world country) do better than this!
You are only 40 minutes from US, you have no excuse of lack of Supplies, nor access to Equipment or Education, only excessive poor attitude, attitude & more attitude... It's no wonder most Bahamians that can fly to Florida. Pity the poor man.

If you ever want to know about any culture, see how they treat their sick, injured & elderly. Those well educated Cuban Govt. doctors & nurses sure make sense...

Well said, it only takes an errant statement or regulation to kill a lifetime of effort.
Mr. Gray should take the time to open Google Earth look at the worlds tropical locations that are Bahamas' competition for the tourist funds.
Politicians always think they are the center of their world... sorry, only in your own MIND. That is why periodically they must go out with the trash.

With a long term (100 year?) lease, should the 'private island paradise' concept fail Ocean Cay will make a great LNG warming/storage facility. Many next generation cruise ships will have natural gas-electric hybrids power systems in need of fueling locations.
MSC is looking forward, unlike governments.

I love The Bahamas, love to fish there by walking the flats off the shore. Now Florida & elsewhere are calling me back. Only need $20 worth of permits, within the limits can do it all day, everyday for a year! No hassles! No problem.