Dear list members,

For a Marine Environmental Policy course, tought by Dr. John Mark Dean of
the University of Soiuth Carolina, I am to write a briefing paper on an
environmental problem and a proposed solution, both of which having
significant offerings and effects to socioeconomic conditions in the US
and/or world and local markets.  My main interest at present being the
aquarium industry and trade of reef species, I wanted to do a project
involving the effects of these industries on environmental and economic
situations in developing nations that exploit their natural resources for
minimal monetary income.  We constantly hear about the destruction of reefs,
and anyone who knows the bare minimum about the topic can easily understand
the concept that coral habitat is lost, and less easily re-settled, as algae
takes over.  A lack of the animals that thrive on this algae is therefore a
possible indirect cause of this habitat loss, and thus the question stands:
to what extent does shell collection affect reefs?  If it does in fact have
a detrimental effect, what can be done about it?  Banning shell harvesting
is certainly beyond enforcement capabilities (especially considering that it
is a large trade and a large part of the income of many developing nations
***at least I assume this is the case as I have found little in the line of
reference to this in any resources I have yet uncovered...***)

I was originally looking solely at the trade of cowries, however, to further
prove my point I am looking to refer to such cases as the murex shells and
tridacna clams.  I would like to be able to prove the economic importance of
the shells themselves as they are used in the production of decorative
products and jewlery, as well as the more easily proved economic importance
of the reefs.  After some preliminary research, I came up with a couple of
resources on the topic of depletion of cowrie stocks in countries such as
Tanzania, but nothing in particular regarding the propagation and
aquaculture of the animals.  I would like to ask the members of this list if
they may know of anyone who is interested (in any respect) in this idea, as
well as the implimentation of projects to aquaculture cowries and other
mollusks as a sustainable resource.

Any resources or comments/personal insights on the topics presented above
would be greatly appreciated.  I can be reached by email at [log in to unmask]

Again, thank you in advance for any help that can be offered.

-James C. Frank

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                     James C. Frank
                     Marine Science Major - The University of South Carolina
                     Aquarist - Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
                     http://mudflat.geol.sc.edu/~jcfrank
                     [log in to unmask]
                     (803)544-2683