There have been many in FL who have gone to bat on this conservation
issue.....especially the new laws in Sanibel, etc.        They were knocked down
before they could hardly say anything.
 
As far as lobbying.....we will need LOTS  and LOTS of money and LOTS of good
attorneys....remember the tuna industry and tobacco industries have millions!!!!
 
ferreter wrote:
 
> Maybe what we need is a legislative lobby, contact the tobacco lobby , they
> can do anything. on the serious side , we do need a voice where it counts ,
> any volunteers? . .
> As for what i wrote last week , it was intended to get both view points and
> suggestions on "what can be done to help" but as usual it turned into a
> fingerpointing and mud throwing event . Hey , I'm a BFT and it's easy to hit
> me with mud , now that we've settled down , the question still needs to be
> addressed , "What can be done to help ourselves and our hobby". When the
> World Tuna fleet got flack and boycotts for the killing of Bi-catch animals
> like dolphins the Tuna industry began a highly visible campaign of getting
> divers in the water to free the trapped turtles and dolphins. the result , a
> label that states "dolphin safe" . this boosted sales beyond the pre-boycott
> levels. see there is a way for conservation to work but sometimes it does
> take an effort. mark
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kim C. Hutsell <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 6:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Back to the Conservation Issue - Sanibel
>
> >Just out of curiosity...why is it that the COA, the biggest mollusk
> >oriented organization in the United States, is letting itself be
> >legislated out of existance? I hear a lot about being blamed for declines
> >in molluscan populations, but nothing about an active defense? Do we
> >really want to go the same way as fresh-water mussel collectors and bird
> >egg collectors?
> >
> >Specimens and data in old collections can be informative and fascinating
> >but only tells us about the past. These tell us little about the present
> >state of our environment if we can't get out and take new samples to
> >study it.
> >
> >We continually sit by and let ourselves and our activities be blamed for
> >anything and everything. We talk amongst ourselves, get each other all
> >worked up, pat each other on the back because we all recognize the
> >problems and, then, let it go.  It reminds me of bitching about being in
> >a bad marriage, but being too lazy to do anything about it.
> >
> >I get so frustrated with some of the attitudes I encounter, I can hardly
> >stand it. Mostly it's people who believe that they can go on about their
> >business...collecting responsibly, or studying their clades, or drawing
> >their trees, or writing their articles, or dealing their shells...and
> >hoping someone else take care of defending their (our)
> >hobby/avocation/profession. When are we going to wake up and pull our
> >heads out of the sand? There ISN'T anyone else! We're it! And if we don't
> >start standing up against bad legislation, we might as well start hunting
> >plastic seashells in our bath tubs!
> >
> >Kim Hutsell
> >San Diego
> >
> >Bobbi Cordy wrote:
> >>
> >> I stated several times that one of the big problems in FL is the
> >> renourishment of beaches where hundreds of shells and being pumped out
> >> of the ocean onto the beaches....well here is what was in yesterdays
> >> paper:
> >>
> >> "Panama City Beach - A renourishment project is providing beachcombers
> >> with a bonanza of shells of all kinds and calibers.
> >> In addition, dredges are bringing up gun shells expended during military
> >> training exercises in or over the Gulf of Mexico.
> >> Beachcombers usually have to wait until low tides after storms to find
> >> fresh seashells, but the dredging is providing them with relatively
> >> untouched specimens in the sand being pumped from offshore to restore
> >> severely eroded beaches.
> >> The $21.5 million renourishment is about 40percent complete and on
> >> schedule, said Rafael Castillo, a quality control official with Great
> >> lakes Dredge and Dock Co. which has been doing the dredging work."
> >> Florida Today, Tuesday, December 1, 1998.
> >>
> >> AND very soon the scientific shell collector will be told it is their
> >> fault because the shells are gone.  What a crock!!!
> >>
> >> --
> >> Jim and Bobbi Cordy
> >> of Merritt Island, Florida.
> >> Specializing in Self-Collected
> >> Caribbean & Florida Shells
> >
 
--
Jim and Bobbi Cordy
of Merritt Island, Florida.
Specializing in Self-Collected
Caribbean & Florida Shells