This is exactly what I am referring to, and am no way am I trying to attack
the scientific/learning community.  You folks are an excellent resource for
this kind of information because you care about the places these objects of
your affection come from.  I am working on this project as a simulation for
my class, so really, publication is long down the road, if it ever happens
at all anyway...  besides this, it is important that you all realize that
the point of the paper is to discuss a method of assessing the populations
of target species (food species) for better regulation of stocks, which in
the long run allows for more biodiversity on the reef, and a greater
production than can be maintained by the exploitative methods used today
(diving at night with full SCUBA gear for example).  I have heard numerous
accounts of the need for divers to use SCUBA as a result of the exploitation
that's already occured in the inshore areas.  Protecting reefs means
protecting every species, no matter it's economic significance on a global
scale, and protecting every species preserves these resources for the
future... look at Strombus gigas... look at the Tridacnids...  These species
were (and still are) under such high predation by us that they have had to
be farmed and restocked.  By assessing these animals populations and
dispersions now, we can prevent such situations from occurring in other
species down the road.

I hope this puts what I'm doing into perspective well enough.  So, you have
my word, I am not trying to bash the collection of shells.  I am merely
trying to promote a better method of managing them as a resource for
developing nations.

Thanks again.
-James

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                     James C. Frank
                     Marine Science Major - The University of South Carolina
                     Aquarist - Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
                     http://mudflat.geol.sc.edu/~jcfrank
                     [log in to unmask]
                     (803)544-2683


----- Original Message -----
From: Don Barclay <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: Images and pictures...


> Dear Masashi,
>
> Thank you very much for the informative post.  You illustrate very
> well what I was suggesting, that it is the harvesting of molluscs
> for food or commercial purposes--on a large scale--that cause
> the populations to be stressed, and not scientific collecting.
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Don
>
> ----------
> > From: Masashi Yamaguchi <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Images and pictures...
> > Date: Saturday, April 22, 2000 1:15 AM
> >
> > Dear Frank,
> >
> > Marine molluscan resources on Okinawa have been subjected to intensive
>  exploitation or
> over-harvesting
> > after you were enjoying reef walks at low tides only a couple of decades
ago.
>  When the
> locals collected
> > shells for home consumption during low tide periods, these molluscan
>  populations had
> plenty time for
> > restocking by themselves. Things are all different now, because
professional
>  fishers
> use diving gears and
> > other advanced means of exploitation such as an underwater torch (that
can
>  make the
> whole sea bottoms
> > visible around the divers for easy catch of nocturnally active species).
Once
>  the
> brood-stocks were decimated
> > it is very hard for reef dwellers to come back. There have been
>  government-funded
> projects to restock these
> > molluscs (giant clams, green snail and trochus), but it takes a long
looong
>  time to get
> them increased and
> > to be self-propagating. The small giant clam (T. crocea) restocking
project
>  was
> initiated in the early 1970s
> > and juveniles produced in the government hatcheries have been planted on
the
>  reefs in
> many hundred of
> > thousands so far, but the recovery is very slow. The trochus project
followed
>  and
> juvenile releases have
> > been underway but we must wait for several years to see the results, as
they
>  grow to
> maturity very slowly.
> > The green snail project is the most recent since its life cycle was not
known
>  until the
> late 1980s. Juvenile
> > mass-production has been established for this snail and releasing
methods are
>  under
> investigation.
> > It is so easy to destroy molluscan stocks of commercial value but very
hard to
>  restore
> after destruction.
> >
> > Masashi Yamaguchi
> > Univ. of the Ryukyus,
> > on Okinawa