Hi Mary Jo, I just got back from a trip to Nassau and did a lot of snorkeling and shell collecting around Nassau and Paradise Island. It was my first visit to the Bahamas so I can't speak for the other Islands. Sadly, the reputation for not so good shelling in Nassau/Paradise Island was backed up by my experience (although I didn't get to the south side of the island where I imagine there is less polution). There is a cove near Atlantis (Love's beach) where I found some good shells snorkling and on the beach. Also you can try a beach further East on Paradise Island called Snorkeler's Cove. But all in all it was pretty slim pickings. I would recomend just about any other Island to visit. If it had to be Nassau though, I would recomend visiting nearby Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay) Is. (Ferry from Paradise Island about a half hour and $25). That is pretty much where I found all my good shells in some quantity. There is a little human made secluded harbor area on the south side of the Island where I snorkeled in shallow water and found many excellent shells (including 3 Cassis tuberosa's - one amazingly over ten inches! - he was a bit worn and I didn't know how I would go about transporting/killing him so I decided to only take his picture). I also encountered a huge Manta (Sting?) Ray kicking up a bunch of "smoke" flapping his wings on the ground. -Take care, Kevin