Just had an excellent program at our Club meeting by Peter Bitar on the water
run off into Florida Bay caused by agriculturists....into the Everglades, then
to Florida Bay and then to the Keys.....all caused by agriculture....NOT shell
collecting!!!!

Why don't they ban collecting fish and lobster???????    The SCUBA divers can
take plenty of sea life --- BUT don't touch a shell!!!!  What's the point????

Ellen Bulger wrote:

> I know I'm preaching to the faithful here, but honestly! These seashell bans
> are largely so that politicians can look like they are eco-friendly without
> actually doing much work, annoying powerful potential campaign donors
> (developers et cetera) or getting off their pork-fattened backsides to
> actually accomplish anything. Waste management is not an issue the public
> pays attention to or is willing to spend money on, so water quality gets
> worse and worse. Real Estate is big bucks and heaven forfend we stand in the
> way of somebody building by the water. Wildlife disappearing? It couldn't be
> the fact that last year's wetland is today's hotel and condos, or that the
> new marina is where the mangroves used to be. It must be us pesky shellers.