The average five-year-old conch will yield 4 ounces of meat when separated from shell (which looks uncannily like a chicken breast), and offers the equivalent amount of protein as a steak.

Although the underside of the knobbed whelk, the most common of Virginia’s three species, is bright orange, whelk shells are not valued as are queen conch shells.

Shell Beach, End of Oak Tree Lane, Shelter Island, 631-749-1166, shelterislandtown.us ADMISSION $35 one-week parking permit through Labor Day (you must be staying on Shelter Island to get one).

The molluscs’ meat is served in salads and other local dishes, their pinky-orange shells are sold to tourists, and festivals celebrate conchs’ importance to the history of the island nation.

But the real star of the show came when it was time to try the traditional conch salad. While the taste was fresh and flavorful—something everyone should expect when eating any sort of seafood ...