This discussion of shell collecting techniques seems to be revolving around a supposition that just isn't accurate, namely that large specimen shell exporters obtain their stock by personally employing various methods of mass collecting (and therefore mass destruction). This is being contrasted to "individual" collecting, by techniques supposedly more environmentally friendly. This is simply not the way it is. Most of the larger exporters of quality specimens, at least the several I am best acquainted with, actually do little if any personal collecting. They purchase virtually all their stock from local sources - fishermen, divers, collectors, etc. They also purchase from smaller wholesalers, who in turn buy from individual collectors. Several suppliers I know in the Philippines make frequent "buying trips" to the other islands, where they can select from the current stock of the various local wholesalers. So, in the final analysis, virtually all specimen quality shells are collected by "individuals". I am not so naive as to assume that all these individuals are concerned about environmental issues. They are trying to earn a living. But there is no way to weed out shells collected improperly from those collected properly. The concept of purchasing only shells known to be obtained by environmentally sound methods is attractive, but the cold hard facts are: No collector (or shell show committee) can be certain of how a retail dealers's shells were obtained, because . . . No dealer can be certain of how his wholesaler's shells were obtained, because . . . No wholesaler can be certain of how his suppliers' shells were obtained, because . . . No local supplier can be certain of how his many individual collectors got them. Also, to be realistic, if you personally trade shells with another individual collector, bypassing all the middlemen, you still have no way of knowing with certainty how the person obtained the shells. Wholesalers pool the shells they obtain from various sources. This has advantages and disadvantages. The principle advantage is specimen quality. When you trade with an individual, you get the best that person was able to find in his own neighborhood. A wholesaler on the other hand has many specimens obtained by many individuals in many places, has already rejected inferior material, and can select the best quality from a larger stock. A retail dealer who has let his wholesalers know that he will accept only the best can usually offer considerably better quality than most individual collectors can. This is the "service" a retail dealer offers to the collectors who purchase from him/her. The biggest disadvantage of this system is the loss of detailed locality data. Since wholesalers pool their specimens, the best they can usually provide to a retailer is general data - the island or general locality where the specimens were collected. A wholesaler is not going to keep separate, detailed locality data for each individual specimen. That kind of data can be obtained only from the individual who collected the shell in its natural habitat. Paul M.