To all of Conch-L:

        The late Myra Keen commented quite eloquently in her 2nd edition of "Sea
Shells of Tropical West America" (1971, p. 9-10) her concerns regarding
conservation and collectors "self-restraint" by including a "Shell
Collector's Code of Ethics." It was primarily aimed at growing problems in
the Gulf of California at the time but she urged collectors everywhere to
adhear to the code.  However, she ultimately blamed pollution as the
"greatest threat of all to the marine fauna."  Enough said.

Aloha,

Lindsey T. Groves

At 01:45 AM 5/2/00 -0400, you wrote:
>>To those who are interested in Shelling In Florida:
>
>>The environmentalists are winning here and they are as misinformed and
>>authoritarian as in California.
>>
>>We did our best live collecting on the mainland near Ft. Myers and are so
>>disgusted with the short-sightedness and ignorance of the locals regarding
>>the true dangers to inland mollusc populations that we will not return
>>there. The hypocrisy of these local officials is so great that it staggers
>>my imagination. They deny us the right to harvest molluscs and then continue
>>to allow development and pollution in sensitive mangrove and coastal marsh
>>areas!!!! The fertilizer run-off in Lee and Charlotte Counties has been
>>poisoning the Pine Island Sound for years - yet now they are not cleaning up
>>their act, they, are simply not allowing any form of live shelling!
>
>
>I believe Bob has an important point regarding the large-scale threat to
>molluscan (and other critter) habitat by "development" and pollution.
>However, I think we should be careful in blaming "environmentalists," or
>misguided officials, or busybody tourists for our difficulties. It would
>serve us all better to try to inform the misguided and try to get them to
>re-direct their efforts. We're all in this together...is the outlook I
>would try to impart.
>
>As Bob points out, the large-scale threat generally comes from extremely
>deep-pocketed segments of our society. These developers, agribusiness,
>chemical manufacturers, etc., are more than happy to convince everyone that
>all regulations are by definition unjust and oppressive. They are also glad
>to have everyone believe that all environmentalists spike trees in order to
>kill loggers and all enviromentalists want to blow up ski lodges.
>Alternatively, they would be glad to have everyone believe that all we need
>to do to remedy environmental degradation is to get everyone to recycle and
>plant seedlings once a year.
>
>This image problem regarding environmentalism is compounded by the fact
>that almost all of the top ten environmental organizations in the US are
>funded to a large extent by Big Oil money (Pew Charitable Trust, for
>example). But there are certainly some serious environmentalists who are
>knowledgeable and working very hard to combat the true sources of threat to
>our natural world.
>
>Anyhow, I think there's a danger sometimes that shellers get caught up in
>feeling bitter about being inconvenienced in their hobby when there's much
>more at stake regarding the habitats of their favorite natural organisms.
>I'm reminded of the bumper-sticker from 20 years ago: "One nuclear bomb can
>ruin your whole day!"
>
>I, for one, would support a move for COA to come out (not only in favor of
>responsible collecting but also) in opposition to activities that result in
>the systemic destruction of habitat. We, as naturalists, scientists,
>hobbyists, would do well to alert the public to the big picture. (This
>would also help clear up misconceptions about the threat posed by removing
>hermit crabs from shells, etc.)
>
>Enough raving for tonight,
>
>David
>Durham, NC
>
**********************************************************
Lindsey T. Groves
Collection Manager, Malacology & Invertebrate Paleontology
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 763-3376 (Mal), (213) 744-3485 (IP)
(213) 746-2999 (fax)
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