Well, Don and others,
 
Where does that leave us on Charonia and other shells that might be
on any country's (or customs inspector's) 'secret' list?
 
Does anyone know if these bans are stated in a law, somewhere, or
are they just some manner of "recommendendation" to not collect tritons,
like some dive charter captains "recommend" that you don't collect
ANY shells if you want to get back to shore.
 
Does Australia or the Philippines or any country actively promulgate
this information? Or is it left to be passed by word-of-mouth amongst
the "Doers of dastardly Deeds" themselves?
 
In Hawaii, the Crown-of-thorns isn't the only coral-eater. I have
often seen a "trail" of small, white ('bleached') coral heads that
terminated in a Box starfish (sp. unknown). But these guys are
innocuous enough otherwise, no venomous spines to anger the diver
or terrible common name to raise the religious ire of millions.
Yet they evert their stomachs just as the Crown-of-thorns can and
make their living in the same manner.
 
So what gives? And what about those Triton trumpets collected in
American waters?
 
I guess it comes down to "Are these shells actually banned or not?"
And if they are, at what legal level of society do we draw the
line of "cooperation?" If they're not banned by CITES, then by a
national law, or a provincial law, or if a town council says they don't
want people taking "their" shells away? Or, maybe the local thugs don't
want you messing with their stuff? (Enforcement at this level is easy
comprehend!)
 
So, enough already. If CITES doesn't ban a shell, who does? And are
we allowed to know it ahead of time or hit the 'wall' at full speed
in some foreign land?
 
 
Quizzically,
 
makuabob