Stoner and Davis: Outplanting queen conch, Strombus gigas 



409 



plan for the nursery habitat, considering water 

 quality, sediments, macrophytes, and predator spe- 

 cies, as well as the conch populations themselves. 



Hatchery techniques are well developed for queen 

 conch, but the production of high numbers of juve- 

 niles does not insure the success of stock rehabilita- 

 tion programs. Success will require much basic re- 

 search on the life history and ecology of the species, 

 particularly with respect to nutrition, growth, and 

 predator-prey interactions. A close interaction be- 

 tween hatchery managers, fisheries biologists, and 

 ecologists will be key to success. 



Acknowledgments 



This research was supported by a grant from the 

 National Undersea Research Program, NOAA, U.S. 

 Department of Commerce. We thank K. Schwarte and 

 J.-P. Thonney for conducting most of the field work, 

 along with D. Mansfield, E. Martin, S. Oberlink and 

 V. Sandt. Dozens of yachtsmen assisted in the initial 

 tagging and measurement of conch. L. Marshall pro- 

 vided helpful suggestions related to tethering experi- 

 ments. A. Dalton and W. Hartman of the Caicos 

 Conch Farm were especially helpful in providing the 

 hatchery-reared conch and information on their cul- 

 ture. R. Glazer, J. Lin, M. Ray, S. Tettelbach, and 

 anonymous reviewers made valuable suggestions for 

 improving the manscript. 



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