All Very Interesting! Two places come to mind for myself. Years ago I took my boat & truck by barge from Oahu to Maui to collect Spondylus linguafelis. On calm days I was able to dive the outer fringing reefs of Kaho'olawe Island. The Navy announced days when there wasn't any bombing runs at that time. In 35ft the bottom was covered in black coral trees & un-exploded ordinance! My anchor & chain was drapped over a 300 pounder. Ouch! This area yielded many near white Cypraea tigris schilderiana & saw many Charonia tritonis. It was shocking to see more Hawaiian Monk Seals there than sharks. Then I had the chance to dive Easter Island off Chile for tropical fish & shells. Took 4 days from Oahu to go to Tahiti, then Santiago, Chile where I awaited a "once a week" supply plane bound for Australia with a re-fueling stop in Easter Island. I found new species of both diving down to 220ft on twin tanks daily. The highlight was finding a Polynesian canoe anchor which I donated to the local museum(gave weight to Marquesans populating the island rather tha Chilean Indians as Thor Heyerdale speculated). Thanks for allowing me to share my experiences! CHRIS:) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------