The Apple Snail, Pomacea canaliculata: Pest for Profit

The island of Kauai and especially Hanalei Valley, supplies the majority (approximately 60%) of the State's taro production. The valley also is home to the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge which is part of the Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Through a unique partnership controlled taro farming creates and enhances the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge programs by providing more than 110 additional acres of nesting and feeding habitats for a variety of indigenous and endangered Hawaiian water fowl. The apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, is an edible aquatic snail that is a major pest in Hawaii, where it feeds voraciously on aquatic plants, and poses as a major threat to the taro industry. The apple snail has made its way to the Hanalei Valley first being noticed in February of 1998 and has since spread to adjacent farms as well as into the refuge. Despite efforts to manually remove the snail, it now threatens taro farming in the valley and ultimately the wetland habitat. The Phase I research effort will focus on determining the feasibility of marketing wild caught snails as escargot in order to place a suitable amount of "fishing" pressure in an attempt to manage the infestation. This proposed research will test various commercial feeds to determine a feeding regimen that will result in a processed snail product that is marketable on island during our Phase I effort and to expand to out of State sales during Phase II activities. The potential impacts are new agricultural product(s) and a means to manage an aquatic nuisance.