Paul, Art, Bernardino and anyone else interested
In Australia our primary shell collecting is carried out in three zones,
littoral = areas which expose at low tide, reef, usually offshore, again
which exposes at low tide and material collected by trawlers at greater
depths or by divers.
Littoral zone areas are our most vulnerable, in most States in Australia
there are numerous such areas, which in the past were most prolific, these
are exposed on the "big out" and a "half out" tides each month. These areas
are very popular with collectors, unfortunately some are very unscrupulous
in their collecting habits. As an example, Dingo Beach, on our near north
coast, always a prolific collecting site for Cypraea in particular Cypraea
brevidentata which has now been collected to the point of extinction. Alan
Hinton, who many of you will remember as a great malacologist and author,
tells the story of a certain person bringing in two large jars filled with
this "rare species" to his shop many of which were damaged specimens from
that area, Alan blasted the person and offered him two cents for each,
previously they had a value of many dollars. I can relate many such examples
of this over collection not only for greed but also to get perfect
specimens. The collecting of perfect or gem specimens as some people refer
to them, is the reason for much over collecting. How can you tell whether
any species which has a heavy periostracum such as the Coneidae or Cymatidae
or many of the bivalve families is a "gem" specimen without killing it and
bleaching to check for line growths etc, I personally have seen buckets of
cones brought in from reefs over the years which have finished up in the
garden or the rubbish tip because of imperfections.
Our reef areas are not so vulnerable as Mother Nature takes care that when a
big out tide occurs she produces high winds which prevents reef access
however when a collecting trip is on it is common to see collectors coming
back to the boat with bucket loads of shells, many with periostracum as I
mentioned earlier. Our Government has restricted many reef areas for
rehabilitation to protect the corals, however our cyclone season and coral
bleaching causes much more damage each year than an army of collectors
could achieve in a lifetime of collecting.
This is an extract from a new Spondylus book I hope to have published in the
near future. "In the Philippine Islands, hookah divers equipped with the
most basic of diving gear, search for a variety of the same species in
similar habitats at 40-80 metres. Not all divers survive, and of those that
do, a significant proportion become permanently disabled through the "bends"
. The few pesos they receive per specimen seem a poor compensation for their
ordeal". This to obtain "gem" specimens for those who insist on perfection.
Our third method of obtaining specimens is from the trawling boats in the
deeper waters where many rare and desirable species occur. While it is now
an offence for trawlers in Australia to bring in restricted bi catches such
as sea-shells many still seem to finish up in the hands of dealers and
collectors "in the know". It is also very difficult for the government
agencies to control the illegal fishing by Indonesian and Taiwanese people
who have been carrying out this work for centuries. However I do not think
there is any dangers to species in this habitat and think it strange that
trawlers are restricted from bring in these bi catches, with Government
monies limited or non existent for off shore research this form of
collecting gives both the scientist and the amateur the opportunity to
examine species, many new to science.
Bernardino raised the non molluscan problem of our depleted native animals.
Australia is a young country by European standards, settled primarily by
English migrants in the south and Italian and German in the north,
approximately 200 years ago. The southern migrants considered the Tasmanian
Tiger an animal to be feared and decimated it whenever possible. By
introducing the European farming habits to Australia by clear felling of
trees etc, this not only caused massive land erosion but eliminated many of
our smaller creatures. Our indigenous people also received horrific
treatment, terrible beyond description, which I will not go into here. Much
of this which we put down to the ignorance of that time but then but what is
different to the terrible recent happenings in Germany, Bosnia, Cambodia,
Iraq, etc. Hopefully here in Australia we have recovered from our past and
mostly are rather complacent people with a reasonable (occa) sense of
humour.
In wishing you (again) a very Merry Xmas, I appeal to all our collectors,
particularly those new to this wonderful hobby, to be conservative in your
collecting habits. Some of the most interesting and attractive collections
consist of many rare but dead taken or damaged specimens. If you want to
sight these collections visit your local Museum. I also recommend to you to
consider the collection of the Bivalvia for your collections, this huge
group provides more colour and variation that many of the Gastropod species
in my opinion and can be obtained as fresh dead specimens by walking on
beaches, sand flats, reefs or whatever.
Kev
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