Welcome Dunte Rolle and Christopher May! As of today, we have two new volunteers here in Sandy Point. Being new to the conch towing business, we put these two recent high school graduates through our “rigorous” training camp as soon as they arrived. Not only do you have to be able to spot conch like these within a transect while getting dragged through the water…

Can you spot the conch?

…you’ve got to learn how to categorize conchs as a juvenile, subadult  (roller), or adult, and identify mating behavior and spot egg masses. We also measure the size and lip thickness of quite a few conch shells, so you’ve got to learn how to use the calipers. During our afternoon boot camp, Dr. Stoner showed the guys the ropes and they are ready to go this week!

Dr. Stoner explains the stages of the conch life cycle after collecting a few examples.

Training...three to a tow.

Chris and Dunte measure the thickness of a large conch's flared lip.