I have found about the same thing here in Florida in regards to the
officials who are responsible for enforcing the laws pertaining
to mollusk collection. Essentially they don't have a clue and you
are pretty much at the mercy of their field enforcement personnel.
Knowing the laws yourself and having a copy is good insurance
against problems -- but not a panacea.

Bill F.
www.jaxshells.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Yoshimoto" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 12:46 PM
Subject: Re: early planing


> Hi Jordan et all,
>         To answer your question is rather simple.  You may take up to ten
> "SPECIMENS" per day of non-edibles that are listed in the Washington Fish
> and Wildlife manual.(No License)  But if you are collecting edible
bivalves
> you must obtain a license.  If you are collecting for an institution you
> must get a scientific collector's permit from the head office in Olympia.
> That takes time and needs a letter from the institution saying what you
are
> interested in collecting and what will happen to the materials collected.
> All this is on the Washington State Fish and Wildlife website.
>         Now comes the fun part.  A couple of months ago I stopped with my
> wife and favorite friend "Kuma" (our dog) at a Fish and Wildlife office,
> outside Aberdeen, Washington and asked for a license to collect shells.  I
> told them that I had read that I could collect 10 "FREE" mollusks, without
> a license but would like to do some "clammin'".  They were thrown into a
> complete dizziness and went looking for the Captain, Head game Warden and
> several computer experts to check my statement about "Free" mollusks (OK,
> Avril, it's "molluscs" for you.)  After a half hour of haggling they
> finally found the one sentence in the whole website that said that, Yes, I
> could collect 10 "freebies".
>         Now, that some of the head "Honchos" at one of the main offices.
> When I was collecting at Camano Island State Park in June (official open
> season for clams and oysters, with license), I had to go through the same
> thing with the game warden, who was checking every bucket that came up the
> hill.  "Are you going to eat those snails?", he asked.  Fortunately I
carry
> the Fish and Wildlife reulation folder with me at ALL TIMES, just in case.
>         So, that's that and yes, you can collect, without a license, up to
> 10 specimens, not species, per day without a license.  I recommend that
you
> also carry the Fish and Wildlife Regulations with you to help educate the
> Game Wardens.
> Dan