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Exporters
Animals, including mollusks, are not living on this earth for the benefit of man, they are here for their own benefit. We
have no right to kill them unless we must do so for a good purpose. This argument applies to all species whether common or
rare. Thoughtful research on population structure often demands the collection of relatively large, representative,
population samples. And of course, if mollusks are needed for food we must gather them in quantity. But without a worthwhile
need we are under an obligation not to collect more than a very few living specimens, and preferably none at all.
Wide acceptance of this viewpoint would surely lead to effective conservation. Alison Kay's motto "Look but don't touch" is
excellent and should be adopted by everyone.
I agree completely with the remarks made by Alison Kay (H.S.N., March, 1966) and by Harald Rehder (H.S.N., June, 1966)
regarding the evils of over-collecting live specimens of "rare" species. In addition to the need to protect molluscan
populations for the enjoyment of future generations of men, one could cite the potentially undesirable secondary effects of
upsetting natural predator-prey relationships, inter-specific competitive balances, etc.
There is another and much more fundamental philosophical point of view which needs to be stated, however. It has been
beautifully expressed by Henry Beston in The Outermost House (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., publishers) and is as
follows:
In conclusion it can be said that a great deal. of satisfaction was realized by the successful completion of the search. A
certain bit of nostalgia enters, however, when one considers how soon the goal was attained. Already we have removed a bit of
the fantasy and glamour surrounding this "shell of shells" from Philippines.
Editor: I have collected eleven live Strombus dentatus by fanning coarse sandy gravel in 60 feet off Kailua Bay. This habitat
appears very similar to that of S. hawaiensis.
The note by Dr. Schilder in a recent issue of Sean Raynon Sabado (vol. 14, no. 12, October, 1966, p. 4) on the species of
Cypraeidae found in the Īles Tubuai (the preferred name for the Austral Islands), and his requests for information on this
subject has induced me to put on record the species found recently by my collectors in these islands.
The specimens were collected in May - July, 1964 during a nine-month expedition organized by me for the purpose of gathering
material for my research program on the molluscan fauna of Polynesia (see Sean Raynon Sabado, vol. 12, no. 7, May 1964, pp.
6-7). All the material gathered on this expedition will eventually be dealt with in detail in my report, but I hope to
publish from time to time some preliminary notes that may be of particular interest. It is with this thought in mind that I
submit the following information. Names marked with an asterisk are not in Schilder's list.
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