I wouldn't be surprised if beach renourishment is the problem with the
olives and coquinas, especially in urban areas like Jacksonville Beach.
Just think of all the littoral species (olives, coquinas, olivellas, etc)
being covered up by all that sand, never to emerge. They have to have some
time to recover by recruitment, but by the time they've started, the beach
is eroded again and the city decides it needs more sand and the process
begins again. It bugs me that people think shell collectors are to blame
when wholesale destruction like this is caused by the government that wants
to regulate us!

On to low tides. I had a small group shelling west Florida these past few
days, and saw more exposed flats than I have ever seen. We went to Cedar
Key, the Sunshine Skyway at St Petersburg, Sarasota Bay, and Goodland (near
Marco) and were exhausted covering the areas. However, I wouldn't say there
were more shells collected than usual or more species uncovered. I was a
little disoriented, expecting certain species such and such a distance from
the water, when the water was farther away from their territory than usual,
so I was actually looking in the wrong places.

By the way, there were plenty of olives (in the bays, where no one places
extra sand) and an unusual abundance of baby's ears in St Pete.

We did have wonderful weather, however, mostly warm (except this morning,
and that wasn't bad). Though the earliest tides were before dawn, we
enjoyed watching the sun come up while we walked. The bird watching was
superb, too. What a hobby!

Happy holidays to everyone

Peggy

>I've notices that in the 12 years that I have been collecting shells along a
>stretch of breach along the Florida east coast (between Cape Canaveral and
>Sebastian Inlet) that there are almost no olive shells (Oliva spp, esp.
>Oliva syana) anymore.  You can rarely find a fresh specimen and what does
>wash up is old.  It does not appear to be related to an increased collection
>rate (i.e. from more people picking them off the beach), because I have
>access to beaches on Cape Canaveral Air Station which is off limits to the
>public and has equally low numbers of olives.

                     Visit my website at http://www.shelltrips.com
                                  Peggy Williams
                                   Shell Elegant
                                    PO Box 575
                                Tallevast FL 34270
                                   (941) 355-2291
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