I have not seen mentioned that the ones who collect for craft products are the ones who over collect not the specimen collector. Go to any craft store and look at the basket upon basket of shells of very poor quality selling for very cheap prices.
Also obviously pollution which is harming are planet in every enviroment is having an impact.There are many sites on the internet that show this.
Toni

---- Fredric Briskin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear List:
>
> In regards to the truth about  the Live shelling ban on Sanibel:
>
> Years ago the late great Tucker Abbott  was actually uncertain about the
> total shelling ban on Sanibel Island. Two  species per day per person could have
> been kept in force and was legitimate. We  still see people carry off live
> shells from the beaches contrary to the law and  many of these people are
> residents of the island. Personally, it isn't worth  getting caught and getting into
> trouble. But there are many locals you can still  buy local specimen shells
> from, that have the same great color surprisingly  enough that they had when they
> were collected before the ban!  Interesting!!!  But when it came to the final
> hearing on the subject nobody  who collected shells stepped up to the plate
> to stop the total ban! Many people  can talk but they do not do anything about
> the problems they talk about. Action  speaks louder than words, so the state
> banned collection of live mollusks on  Sanibel, because everybody could talk
> but nobody showed up to fight for what was  right! The collectors were not the
> main blame for the shelling on Sanibel.  Progress, overpopulation due to
> growth, pollution, fresh water intrusion and  several beach re-nourishments locally
> due to declining seashores has been more  of a problem.
>
> Yes, the numbers of people can significantly impact an  ecosystem with
> pollution and other factors. But the casual weekender does not  know about shell
> trails in the sand or how to find certain species during low  tide. Also Most
> people who aren't collectors do not know what to do with a live  shell when they
> find it, so they leave it. How many serious collectors actually  exist that
> know how to fill their buckets up? Can't be too many or all shell  dealers would
> be millionaires from these zealous collectors!Especially, with so  much
> interest if it existed in collecting specimen shells! Guido Poppe   recently noted
> in an article that the number of collectors has declined  significantly over
> the years.So again why is over-collection blamed?
>
> It  was suggested by Tucker that it would take a lot more than casual
> collecting of  shells on Sanibel even by the bucket load to deplete the local
> Molluscan  population in the area. Then again, nobody blamed the pollution and fresh
> water  overflow from the Caloosahatchee River. Recently, Turners beach and
> Blind pass  on Sanibel had problems with sewage overflow and feces washing into
> the waters  in that area and beaches were shut down. Many fish died so some
> impact had to be  felt by other marine creatures. Red tide has also been very
> hard on the area in  past years as well as hurricanes and bad weather shifting
> molluscan populations  around.  There is also condo building whether restricted
> or not that played  its part over the years.
>
> The gory truth about the Sanibel shelling ban  is that it was actually
> created by a few "Old Guard" of the island who really  didn't want people intruding
> on their island, namely the tourists. I have been a  resident of Sanibel and
> can speak from experience that the shelling ban I  believe was a way of keeping
> away tourists from Sanibel and the shells that the  locals loved to collect.
> I could talk for ions concerning reasons why it isn't  collectors that hurt
> the shelling on Sanibel, but I hope I got my point across  from an experienced
> collector who lived there many years. Now Sanibel businesses  are hurting and
> many places may continue to shut down. Hopefully, everything  Sanibel and the
> state has banned in the past has not come back to hurt the  island
> economically. Live shelling and the collection of live specimens was  certainly a draw for
> many worldwide collectors to come and spend money on the  island. But of
> course the locals weren't interested in the tourism. What about  now? Most people
> who do not live on the island do not do enough damage in  collecting in such a
> short time they are on vacation, because by the time they  learn the great
> places to go, the vacation is normally over. The shell  collectors who live on
> the island shell almost everyday during the lowest tides  and especially at
> night lows!!!
>
> Let's stop blaming the over-collection  and look at the environmental
> reasons. After Hurricane Charley all the live  shells were buried on the beach with
> tractors before the collectors or residents  could get back on the island after
> the hurricane!The shells were not placed back  in the water, because they
> were storm tossed and were going to die anyway! What  happens during the winter
> and summer storms when live shells wash up on the  beach? Do these shells
> survive? But if a collector picks one up, they will be  fined and even jailed! It
> doesn't make good sense! Storm tossed shells normally  die or are dying! Throw
> them back in the water like you see some people do and  they will get shocked
> even more. Most people do not gently walk the live shell  back in the water,
> they throw it!
>
> Collectors could never collect what a  shrimper or fishermen kills in one day
> of trawling! in their nets!! But again  the poor casual collector is blamed
> for over-collecting. Not the environmental  condition, pollution, etc. Frankly,
> politicians would like you to believe that  the pollution etc is being well
> controlled, so they blame the casual collectors  for the decline of local
> species to due over-collecting. They do not want to  take the blame for the lack of
> control they have over the environment, as many  lobbyists etc are involved
> with large companies or special interest groups that  hide facts about the
> environment.Look at global warming and look no  further, politicians are more
> worried about other things than the  environment. But they will always have the
> casual shell collector to pick on for  over-collecting. I hope many collectors
> stop letting these politicians feel they  are right, because one day collecting
> shells will be restricted everywhere and  the hobby will be no more for
> future generations! I believe in conserving, but  let's put blame where blame
> should be placed!
>
> I hope my point about  over-collecting is better understood!
>
> Fredric Briskin
>
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