Planning a Caribbean shelling vacation

[Limpets 1]

Hello MTsheller,
I last collected in Jamaica in 2002 and at that time there was no restriction on collecting. The locals still collect conch shells for sale to tourists, even when they are juveniles. The best area for collecting is along the North Coast (Ocho Rios, St. Ann's Bay, Discovery Bay to name a few places)because of outlying reefs. You won't find too many shells washed up although one good place for beached shells is Great Bay in St. Elizabeth on the South Coast and you can probably collect from offshore rocks there. Diving is probably a good option for the North Coast if you are into that. I grew up in Jamaica and collected there for many years but on return visits found that some places had changed, possibly due to hurricanes and other natural occurrences. Hope this information is helpful.