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Shell necklace
I was extremely distressed to read in the February issue of the Philippine Shell News the article "Three Dozen Murex
insularum." To quote from the article, "...were all live taken during Xmas week at Makua in 45 feet of water." It seemed to
me that the author only added insult to injury when he returned to the same spot within a week, found "Number 37" and
collected that.
One need only do some simple calculations of the acreage of reef area around the coasts of the Philippine Islands to compute
the number of places one might find M. insularum. If all 200 active Malacological Society members in Philippines were to go
to those areas and each were to collect 37 specimens, we should then have in our possession just about every single specimen
of M. insularum in the State. Is that what we really want to do?
Let me start a controversy -- which I hope will stimulate others to contribute their comments. Would the author and collector
of the 37 Murex insularum go up the slopes of Mauna Loa and shoot 37 of what is now known as a "vanishing species," the nene
goose? Perhaps the question is better put another way: would he if he could? In other words: Must we protect all our plant
and animal life by Federal law?
Shell collecting has a long history, as does collecting of birds eggs and butterflies. Bird collecting and butterfly
collecting went "out" by the beginning of the twentieth century. I submit that the shell collector is an anachronism in the
middle of the twentieth century: he is sixty years behind the times. The reason? We cannot afford to exploit our marine
resources as we have those on land.
The area around Mokolea Rock provides excellent shelling for the scuba diver who has a boat available for transportation to
and from the diving area. The ocean bottom in the vicinity of the island is basically sand and coral rubble with scattered
coral chunks and rock slabs. Shells collected from this area, mostly by scuba divers, include the following:
Bursa affinis - under coral
B. crenulata - under coral
Trochus intextus - on coral heads
Murex pele - under coral chunks
Cypraea granulata - 50' under coral
C. maculifera - shallow on rocks
C. tessellata - 50' under coral
C. carneola - 40' under coral
C. chinensis - 50' under rocks
C. schilderorum - 60' under rocks
C. poraria - 60' under coral
C. helvola - shallow, on coral and rocks,
C. fimbriata - 50' under coral,
Cymatium pileare - under coral,
Distorsio anus - in coral heads,
Colubraria muricata - under coral,
several Drupa species - on rocks and coral,
Latirus nodus - on hard bottom,
Oliva sandwichensis - in sand at 50',
Pyramidella sulcata - in sand in 50',
Conus litoglyphus - on coral,
Conus textile - under coral
C. bandandus - under coral
C. vexillum - under coral
C. striatus - under coral
C. pulicarius - under sand
C. abbreviatus - under coral
C. obscurus - under coral
C. moreletti - under coral
Mokomanu Island is known more for its spearfishing than for shell collecting. However, many excellent shells have come from
this rocky, interesting, island. Collecting around Mokumanu is strictly for scuba divers with considerable ability. Also all
diving must be done from a boat, and the boat operator must be experienced. Huge waves wash up onto the shelving sides of the
island and fall back into the sea with considerable violence causing rough water and back wash. The channel between Mokumanu
and Mokapu Point is sometimes hazardous and most boat operators avoid passing through this narrow passage. Strong currents
are sometimes met with but the greatest hazard is from the heavy cross-chop that develops when the swells bouncing off the
vertical cliffs of Mokapu Peninsula meet the incoming seas. Particularly this area must be avoided when strong trades are
blowing.
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