Of all the shelling I have done in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean,
the only place I have seen plenty of live Strombus gigas was in Key
West, where it is illegal to take them.  Everywhere else, all I found
were empty shells with a hole in them to facilitate removal of the
meat.  Dead or alive, however, this one by far beat any I have seen
anywhere.  Evan ran into a large one in a shell shop last week.  A long
way from 18", but very large.  Even with a broken lip, it was priced
$99.99.
 
Sylvia
 
Tom Eichhorst wrote:
>
> Hey Sylvia,
>
> I believe there are a few monster sized strombs out there.  I have a 12
> inch Strombus gigas and it is a heavy, heavy shell.  The point however,
> is that I got it from a friend (diver) who brought three back from the
> Florida Keys in 1974.  The one he gave me was by far the smallest of the
> three.  I don't know if his were up to 18 inches, but they were certainly
> quite a few inches bigger than my 12 inch specimen.  When he picked up
> his three, he said there were hundreds in the area.  Times change.
>
> Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA