Where do seashell stores get their shells?

[david touitou]

Hello,

Effectively, in some countries, shells (and also many kind of animals that can be sold like : fishes, urchins, starfish,...) are overcollected. Poison & Dynamite (and more) are used mainly in the Philippines to catch fishes. That is the bad power of any buisness and have to be controled by government. But things are changing, slow but it's changing and even fishermen have a better idea of what they to to their own living environment. It's always easy for us to give lessons to these populations but effectively if one would have to survive with family it's understandable that they will maybe not take care enough of living habitat.

Though, we are informed since we go to school and new generations more than ever but they are not. When worldwide local divers learn about habitat, they change thei way of collecting & fishing and may keep their job and habitat. Overcollecting for a local diver is not worse than drinving for thousands kms per year with a single car. It's just different. 
We have to realize that many countries (labelled as "developped countries"...) are responsible of dozens of atmospheric Nuclear launches (that we still can measure radioactivity worldwide !)... it's just so far from shell over collecting... (it's not a reason to over collect of course...).

And the fact that in the Philippines over-collecting have been done since years now, make the actual value of shells very low compared to their worldwide rarity... I personnally only collect shells that I can find. I am always surprised by the prices of shells... rare shells like Conus legatus, Conus pertusus, Conus bullatus,... are sent for a few dollars but I can say that they are really hard to catch usually...

Over-collecting is dangerous but nothing compared to the destruction of any habitat by human or nature.

We effectively all shall feel responsible,
​DAVID