This is indeed a very important topic, and from a molluscan point of
view, the loss of marine coastal habitat affects quite a few brackish
water spp all over the planet - mangrove swamps and salt marshes are
being destroyed and degraded everywhere at an increasingly insane pace,
and the productivitiy of many fisheries is declining as a result: when
it comes to the complex and critical struggle between habitat
preservation and short-term economic considerations, it seems greed
trumps common sense 99% or more of the time.....
It surprises me that more ecological topics do not get discussed in
detail on this list: any collector of the products of nature has a
vested interest in protecting the source of the things they so avidly
collect and enjoy!! Let's hope the situation will improve over time.
From the Frigid White land of New Scotland,
Ross Mayhew.