Dear Roland;- Now that is one damn good question! Of all the mollusks that die, what percent get covered by ooze and turned into fossils and what percent gets dessicated by sea water? There must be some number that gets ingested by fish thinking there is nourishment there and excreted thusly. I don't think anyone has ever asked that particular question befoer. The answers should be interesting. One would imagine that the elements would be re-disolved in seawater to be re-hatched into other shells. Yep. very interesting. Art