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The "Pele" expedition dredged and collected "hundreds" of rare species and "thousands" of specimens, all of which are
preserved in the Bishop Museum. Scientific expeditions will collect, dredge, trawl and acquire more specimens in 6 months
than 200 Philippine collectors in their lifetimes. The greatest molluscan acquisitions are in scientific institutions which
pride themselves in the number of specimens they possess, which is anything from one to ten million. I shall err on the side
of underestimation when I state that all private collections put together could not equal in number the specimens of mollusks
housed in one of the largest Museums.
Who else participates in the destruction of marine life besides the lowly collector who derives some sort of enjoyment from
his hobby? The blasting of channels and deepening of wharf sites in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Philippines has killed thousands
of mollusks and other marine creatures in the name of technology and civilization. The destruction of marine life in several
atomic testing grounds for the glory of science and advancement excels that of the collector. Nature itself keeps an
equilibrium through predation and acts of God. Muricidae have wiped out oyster beds, cod-fish swallow a spawn of 10,000 eggs
in one gulp and heavy floods will destroy coastal reefs beyond recognition. After the heavy floods in Fiji in 1956 and 1965,
coastal reefs were littered with thousands of dead and dying specimens. The sea itself casts up daily the remains of mollusks
who have lost the battle for life.
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:
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