I apologize if you receive this E mail note twice.  I was trying to respond to a
private E mail note I received from someone and may have responded to the
Conch-L universe when I tried responding to him.  Sorry.  But just in case I
didn't, I have a question for all you cone experts and lovers out there.  I want
to thank all of you who have responded to me individually with a lot of helpful
information about shelling in Fiji.  My husband and I will be there 2/4-2/19 and
are looking forward to our first experience with Pacific shells.  We would be
grateful to receive any other information any of you would like to offer and
share about your shelling experiences in that group of islands.  We will be on
Taveuni for 5 days, a Blue Lagoon Cruise to the Yasawas for 4 days, on
Malololailai for 3 days, and on Viti Levu for 5 days.  We hope to come back with
some great shells and will let you know how we fared.  However, we do want to
come back alive and since there are cones out that way that can be dangerous to
our health, we'd like to ask for your guidance on how to handle/pick up these
poisonous shells.  How many poisonous cones are there and are there other shells
we need to be wary of?  How do we pick them up and store them without getting
hurt?  Do we need protective gloves or tongs or are we being too paranoid?  We
don't have any idea since the only cones we've collected have been dead ones in
Florida.  What are good habitats for cones?  I've heard you can find them under
dead pieces of coral reef and by hand dredging in the sand.  Any information or
guidance you can give us will be really helpful.  Thanks a lot from another cone
lover.  Kathy