Happy New Year.
 
I just wanted to let people know that Sanibel was, in light of the winter
storms, quite extraordinary in terms of shelling.  I did find a beached
Junonia in reasonably good condition, as well as lots of other species.
There was a wide range of views about the live shelling retsrictions.  Some
old hands (ie, people who take tourists on shelling trips to remoter
islands, not shell store owners), were all for the restrictions, while Ed
Hanley (store owner and sheller), for instance, thought they were nonsense.
 He claimed that his view is supported by the scientific community.  I can
see the argument that what is seen on the beach does not reflect the
quantities of shells offshore (Ed's position).  But I can also see the
problem with people taking too many of what one person referred to as
"breeders" (very mature shells) out of the water.  I know this has been
discussed before here, but I am curious about the variety of views out
there.
 
Also, on the subject of bleach: I found that bleach faded some bivalves
that I had collected.  I thought this was not supppsed to be the case?
Also, if one wants to attempt using acid on shells, where do you get it?
 
So long,
HP