>Dear Conch-L'ers,
>
>I am going to be in Vancouver BC and Seattle,
>Washington for the next week. Any great tips for
>shelling spots? (marine and/or land).
I used to live in Victoria up to 1974... if you're heading to Vancouver Island?
>The general area around Vancouver is not good for shelling. The
>influence of the Fraser River is felt strongly around this whole
>part of the mainland. I've gotten a few nice Nucella lamellosa,
>Lottia parallela, Nassarius mendicus, and a few bivalves at Boundary
>Bay (Crecent Beach in White Rock or Centennial Beach in Tsawassen),
>but not really worth much of a special trip. The shelling is great
>in the Victoria region, or so I hear (I've never been), but for that
>you probably need to plan an overnight trip or catch the first ferry
>across...the tide and ferry schedules can really conspire against
>you! I'm told the breakwater at Ogden Point is the best place. BC
>has restrictions on collecting, but I've never been questioned by
>anyone. The only places I've really found great shells myself in BC
>are at the northern end of Vancouver Island (Port Hardy is great!)
>and on the west coast of it (Bamfield and Tofino areas are also
>fantastic) although much of that falls into Pacific Rim National
>Park, so probably off limits to collecting.
From what I've heard on the list, the Ogden Pt Breakwater is now a
reserve... no collecting. It was good; I live-collected the following
in the gaps between the large granite blocks of the outer wall:
Tonicella lineata
Mopalia spp & Katharina tunicata
Cryptochiton stelleri (abundant and large)
"Haliotis" kamtschatkana
Diodora aspera (very common)
Cranopsis cucullata (very rare, got 2)
Puncturella multistriata (collected about 12)
Calliostoma annulatum
C. ligatum
Fusitriton oregonensis
Ceratostoma foliatum (common)
Ocenebra lurida (including rare giant "sclera")
O. interfossa
Thais (Nucella) lamellosa (including the 2 best I've ever heard of,
really beautiful)
T. lima
Amphissa versicolor
Some other good places are:
-styrofoam floats of wharfs, Oak Bay Marina (beautiful chitons,
Pododesmus, Turritropis)
-the rocks a few hundred meters south of the east end of Margaret's
Bay, Gordon Head, Victoria
(chitons, Turritropis, Lamellaria, Velutina, Margarites,
Ceratostoma, Thais, O. interfossa,
Mitrella, Granulina)
-Sombrio Beach or thereabouts, past jordan River; flat shore platform
has numerous living
Opalia borealis and occasional Epitonium indianorum & E. tinctum
-right at end of road to Botany Bay from Port Renfrew (lots)
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<[log in to unmask]>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
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