As a Floridian, Bill is surely more familiar than I on state regulations,
especially where his pet Strombids are concerned.
 
I recently had a conversation with an inspector at FWS, Miami office, who
told me point-blank, "Without a license you cannot legally collect Strombus
gigas in U.S. waters.  You might be able to take them elsewhere, but don't
try to bring them into the U.S."  He stated that so doing is an offense,
trafficking in illegal wildlife products, punishable by impoundment of the
specimen, plus a variable fine in more serious cases.  (Bringing black
coral home from the Caribbean is another example of this type of prohibited
traffic.)
 
There's not much room for interpretation in the wildlife inspector's
guidance.  A key provision of CITES is that countries shall be free to
enforce stricter controls than those mandated in the convention, including
limits on collecting species not necessarily listed as prohibited.
Evidently one's "reading" of the CITES appendix is irrelevant in light of
FWS policy, as far as U.S. residents and visitors are concerned.
 
By the way, the CITES list is posted in toto at several places on the web.
I would be happy to provide directions.
 
 
Jenny
 
P.S. When I was in the Keys last year I asked about the conch fritters.  Do
you know what they told me?  Even in the Conch Republic, conch is
imported... from the Bahamas!
 
----------
> From: William M. Frank <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re:      Strombus gigas and CITES
> Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 1998 21:13 PM
>
> It is listed in CITES.  It is not protected from collection (except in
> Florida
> which has nothing to do with CITES).  You can collect all of them you
> want (heeding local laws if any).  It is when you move them around from
> one country to another where you can experience problems.
>
> You need to read how it is listed in Cites (Appendix) and what that means
in
> regards
> to the species.
>
> Bill (Strombus) Frank