Bobbi Cordy wrote:
>
> Our shell club always emphasis' take only what you need for your collection.
> Overcollecting is definitely frowned on during our field trips.   We publish
> these
> rules frequently to our members and in our membership booklet.
>
> The biggest waste for sure is letting them die in buckets and wasting them.
> It would be interesting to know what dealers are doing this!!!!
>
> I belive the majority of the dealers are ethical.   Actually, most of them do
> not collect on the field but buy their shells from the Philippine dealers etc.
 
Thank you for that, just another example, if you head down US-1 in the
Florida Keys, there is a little shell store on the atlantic side. My
ex-wife and I visited this store and had begun a nice conversation with
the owner when he decided to show us the back area where he keeps the
acid and such to clean shells.  While walking around back there we found
piles containing literally hundreds of pink conchs, large sea biscuits
and others I don't remember the name of. They were cleaned of the animal
but the outside perio. was still in tact. I began to question him about
the shells because it is illegal to take them from FL waters and he
mentioned that they were shipped in from Haiti. (I reported him to the
marine patrol anyway). When I asked more questions about why they were
just sitting in the hot sun and such, he stated that he probably
wouldn't "get around" to putting them on display and would most likely
send them to the dump.  I was so infuriated and wanted to hit this guy
but he "escorted" us out as the questins got tough.  I have watched
collectors take live pinks, adult and juvies, "don't worry, if anyone
asks, just say they were fresh dead".  Enough people doing this kind of
thing and others looking the other way and boom, you lose a species to
extinction.  ( just a note, a few people have been caught and arrested,
and now face Federal time, fines and a record that follows all your
life.) More examples will come soon.  I just hope collectors and dealers
alike will become more aware and others will have the gumption to say
something and report people where necessary. Michael Huggins, Sunrise,
FL