several of us on this list-serv experienced this in spades over the
past week at Quintana Beach in Brazoria County, Texas, where starting
from Monday of last week  through yesterday (Monday of Martin Luther
King Day), the beach was literally covered in shells. I was told by my
companions this was the best shelling in that area in years. People in
the local clubs had mostly stopped going, but there is always the
chance of finding something new or unusual, and that was the case this
time around, as live specimens of Agriopoma texasianum (the Texas
venus clam) were high in the wrack line, and had not been seen live on
these beaches in years. Perhaps the lack of tourists and collecting
pressure allowed a rebound!

On 1/21/14, Jim Brunner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> A point I've not seen on this thread is how the average amateur collector
> becomes jaded about the fauna in their local area.  On your first local
> outing you pick up everything, on the twentieth you pick up the unusual, on
> the fiftieth you pick up almost nothing.  While this may not apply to
> crafters (who need supplies) and those who trade a great deal (I still seek
> things out upon request), after 34 years in the Florida Panhandle I'm more
> interested in noting where species are and in what condition they are in
> than in collecting them.
>
> Jim Brunner
> On Jan 21, 2014, at 8:34 AM, José Leal <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Dear Harry and Conch-Listers,
>>
>> The question of collecting pressure is always present here on Sanibel; I
>> often hear how "shelling was much better back in my days" or "before the
>> causeway." The fact is that we don't have baseline data to compare with.
>> However, it is clear that now we have a population of shellers a few
>> orders
>> of magnitude larger than in the "old days," and this will affect the
>> outcome
>> and success of any individual collector. Furthermore, independent of
>> collecting pressure, environmental degradation, in particular domestic
>> and
>> agro-chemical pollution in backbay areas, may have a much more lasting
>> effect on the local availability of shells. The main difference is that
>> when
>> collecting pressure decreases the shells are there for taking literally
>> in
>> the next day, whereas the effects of environmental degradation are
>> long-lasting, sometimes irreversible.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> José H. Leal, Ph.D., Curator & Director of Education
>> The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
>> Editor, The Nautilus
>> [log in to unmask]
>> www.shellmuseum.org <http://www.shellmuseum.org/>
>>
>>
>> 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road
>> Sanibel, FL 33957 USA
>> (239)395-2233
>> fax (239)395-6706
>>
>>
>> P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>> Harry Lee
>> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 4:10 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Shells & tourists!
>>
>> Dear Marien,
>>
>> Strong anecdotal posit.
>>
>> Do others feel the shells are less abundant on Sanibel beaches than they
>> were 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years ago?
>>
>> Perhaps a study of the sort that Dr. K. performed should be performed on
>> that island's beaches, which to my knowledge are subjected to plenty of
>> collecting pressure (empty shells only, of course) and are not raked or
>> otherwise altered by man.
>>
>> Harry
>>
>>
>> At 03:28 PM 1/20/2014, you wrote:
>>
>> Dear Harry, others,
>>
>> still I am not happy. But maybe because I remember well collecting shells
>> in
>> 1991, Miami Beach, the early morning tidemarks opposite 22nd street. I
>> collected a few Niveria nix (Schilder), a Sigatica carolinensis (Dall),
>> perhaps a few other micros, before I had to move because they were
>> sweeping
>> the beach big time (removing seaweed, beer cans, etc. using tractors with
>> really big rakes). Adding up my activities to those of the beach
>> cleaner's
>> is totally insane. It's like weighting the elephant and blaming the
>> louse.
>> Tell me: how much has Sanibel become depleted, over the years, by shell
>> collectors? And how could a big pile of loose (bi)valves be more
>> "natural"
>> and "good" than a smaller pile, or none at all?
>> The following is taken from the FLMNH site: "Some countries already
>> recognize the negative effects of shell removal, including the Bahamas,
>> which limits the quantity of shells tourists can export without special
>> permits. However, given the multitude of tourism-related processes that
>> potentially contribute to shell loss, limiting shell collecting may not
>> even
>> be the right answer, according to Kowalewski' . Yes, it may not even be.
>> Obviously it is not at all. But thanks to the shell-collecting
>> restrictions
>> the Bahamas are safe now, as are the Bahamian tourist industry, the
>> beach-raking jobs, and the sand export activities. Sensible measures have
>> already been taken!
>>
>> Marien
>>
>> Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 07:47:00 -0500
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Shells & tourists!
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Dear Listers,
>>
>> A more sober and disciplined journalistic treatment of the Kowalewski et
>> al.
>> report can now be accessed at <
>> http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/science-stories/2014/01/16/new-museum-study-suggest
>> s-seashell-loss-due-to-tourism-may-have-global-impact/ >, which site may
>> also be accessed through the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH)
>> website landing page: <http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/ >.
>>
>> Of interest to some of our readership is the upcoming quinquennial North
>> American Paleontological Convention hosted by FLMNH departments next
>> month;
>> see < http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/index.php/napc/home/>.
>>
>> Harry
>>
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