October 2003 - Mrs. Jennifer Roupp from Winter Park High School begins an experiment with her marine science classes that will examine the effects of density and calcium addition to the growth rate of juvenile queen conch.

October 2003 - Harbor Branch and Mote Sarasota begin a 6 month study that will examine the effects of calcium and density on shell strength and growth rate on juvenile queen conch. This experiment is funded by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.

July 2003 - FWC-FMRI intern Melissa McIntyre (from Florida State University) completes her study on the effects of pesticides on queen conch embryos and larvae. PIC 1 - 2

June 24, 2003 - The Conch Heritage Network receives funding from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund for July 2003 - June 2004. These funds will be used for website updates, educational modules, and juvenile grow-out research.

June 10, 2003 - Teachers from the St. Lucie County school district participate in the Endeavor Academy's "Aquariums in the Classroom" series held at Harbor Branch. The teachers had a chance to learn about queen conch and the lesson plans they can take back to their classrooms.

June 3, 2003 - The juvenile Florida fighting conch density experiment funded by Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund is complete. See Conch Research.

May 27 - 30, 2003 - May 27, 2003, scientists from the National Fisheries Institute (Instituto Nacional de la Pesca) in Mexico participate in a training session at the Harbor Branch conch hatchery. Claudia Padilla, Donaldo Martinez, Ricardo Fanjul, and Omar Cruz conduct research for the Mexican government that examines the queen conch fishery and its status. Their institution received a government grant to aquaculture queen conch as a means to alleviate the fishing pressure in the Quintana Roo region. They had the opportunity to visit the Harbor Branch hatchery and spend a week training with the conch biologists. Upon their return to Mexico, the researchers prepared their own hatchery to get ready for the arrival of juvenile queen conch. They will now spend several years researching the feasibility of a queen conch hatchery and its impact upon the Mexican conch fishery. PIC 1 - 2

May 26, 2003 - Phillip Gillette joins the Harbor Branch conch program as a summer intern. Phillip is a senior at the University of Miami majoring in marine biology. While at Harbor Branch, he will examine broodstock nutrition by comparing two different broodstock diets. He will look at fecundity and corresponding larval health to determine which feed is most nutritious for the broodstock and their offspring.

April 15, 2003 - The Executive Board meets at Mote Sarasota to discuss the CHN Strategic Plan and Bylaws.

March 11, 2003 - Harbor Branch and Mote Sarasota begin a juvenile density experiment with the Florida fighting conch, Strombus alatus. This research is funded by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.

March 6, 2003 - High School students from the Lincoln Park Academy visit Harbor Branch for the day and learn about queen conch and the classroom experiments they can complete.

February 7, 2003 - Ken Riley, the Director of Aquaculture Education at Harbor Branch, promotes the Conch Heritage Network at Nature Fest 2003. This event was attended by over 2100 people, and Ken displayed live conch and passed out the CHN brochure.