7/9/2026
Queen Conch Mobile Lab Debuts
A new chapter in marine conservation has begun.
On the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas, a new chapter in marine conservation has begun as Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, in partnership with The Island School’s Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) and supported by Chef José Andrés’ Longer Tables Fund, announces that the Queen Conch Mobile Lab is now fully operational following the arrival of the first egg masses and first successful hatch. Established in February, the FAU Harbor Branch Queen Conch Mobile Lab is designed to produce up to 2,000 juvenile queen conch annually for conservation and restoration across the region. In April, CEI researchers introduced the first egg masses and witnessed the first hatch, marking a key milestone for the Cape Eleuthera Queen Conch Conservancy.
“We are incredibly excited to reach these milestones because it represents far more than the successful launch of a mobile hatchery,” said Megan Davis, Ph.D., director of FAU Harbor Branch’s Queen Conch Lab and a research professor of aquaculture and stock enhancement. “It demonstrates what is possible when science, conservation and community come together with a shared purpose. Seeing the first egg masses and hatch in the mobile lab means we are now actively growing the next generation of queen conch for restoration, for healthy seagrass ecosystems and for the communities across The Bahamas. It’s a transformative and hopeful moment for conservation.”