Why We Collect Responsibly: A Conchological Badge of Honor
- WSS_admin
- Dec 13, 2024
- 4 min read
by Richard Goldberg
Call it a hobby or call it an obsession. For some, collecting shells overshadows and ameliorates the stress brought about by the day-to-day rigors of life. How so, you say? That is a good question and one with motivating factors that are more personal than can be answered in a few paragraphs; but I’ll try.
Many people at some time in their lives collect something; figurines, stamps and coins, baseball cards, magazines, post cards, Pez dispensers and bottle caps to name a few. You won't have too much competition if you collect lint. Yes, a rarefied few collect buckets of lint!
From autographs to Zorro figurines, collectors become focused on amassing items of the same ilk. But are all collectors of the same ilk? Maybe not…
I divide humankind into two categories -- collectors and non-collectors. Among the collector set are yet two more divisions; those that collect man-made objects and others who are enamored by objects in nature. The gene that makes us collectors is sometimes inextricably connected to the gene that gives us an artistic perspective on life, the art of nature.
As children we might have collected leaves and rocks from the garden and filled shoe boxes full of interesting and unusual objects. That early exposure often carries on as we grow older when our collections head in a more cosmopolitan and organized direction. Natural history collectors, those who are drawn to collecting objects in nature such as rocks, minerals, fossils, shells, butterflies and insects have more often been influenced by those early years of shoe box collecting.
My first exposure to seashells came at a very early age when my grandparents brought back beach shells from their travels around the world. In my early teens I had the opportunity to swim and snorkel in the West Indies. After surfacing with exotic shells of all kinds I was hooked on shells and shell collecting. The collectors that I know best are those who collect shells; we're referred to as conchologists. We find our way into this obsessively satisfying hobby from an infinite number of directions.
Take for instance Richard Taylor, a collector I met many years ago. Richard had little, if any exposure to the ocean until he did a military tour of duty on Kwajalein Island in the Western Pacific. Scuba diving opened a whole new world for him. His collection of self-collected shells was diverse. He immersed himself in shell identification books and learned everything he could about the shells and the ocean environment. He said that collecting shells filled a void for him; until that time, he was yearning to collect something. He had an acute awareness of nature and the environment that harkened back to his childhood. For him collecting shells was a natural fit.
On the flip side are “armchair collectors”, those who dive into this hobby without ever getting their feet wet. From the comfort of their homes these shell collectors satisfy their need to collect by purchasing shells, either from mail order shell dealers, shell auction sites or shell shops. For as many field collectors as I have met during my past four decades as a conchologist, I believe I have met and know twice as many armchair collectors, each finding their way into the hobby either from a happenstance encounter or a more focused path.
Artists, photographers, writers, actors, businesspeople, educators, students, politicians, house wives and house husbands; people from all walks of life have found a life-long hobby as field collectors and arm chair conchologists. No matter what aspect of conchology floats your boat, one thing seems to bond conchologists together. The love of shells seems to stem from a love of nature, and more importantly, an outward concern for preserving our natural environment from over development and destruction.
My point in defining why and how we collect is that on the whole, collectors of natural history objects all seem to understand the pressures of modern society on our environment. Yet it is the collector of natural objects that is often blamed for species extinctions; ironic when one considers that so many field and armchair collectors have a far better feel for the pulse of our environment than those who point the finger and blame us for the rapid loss of living organisms. Environmental impact is a complex subject that cannot be fairly debated in one article or even one book. What can be debated, however, is the way we present ourselves as shell collectors.
Given these facts, and knowing how attuned collectors are to the environment, it is important that we do not send the wrong message to those who do not have our genetic predisposition for and love of what I call “responsible” collecting. Among other things, responsible means not showing pictures on social media of hundreds if not thousands of one species of shell dumped into a pile and purport this to be a shell collection or talk in terms of finding and collecting dozens of one shell collected during a dive or outing on a low tide reef. Take only what you need for your collection and maybe a few for exchange with other collectors. Don’t let greed drive your love of conchology. An irresponsible picture begets a thousand rebukes! Also, avoid collecting juvenile specimens to allow populations of mollusks to proliferate.
Responsible collecting is job-one for field and armchair collectors alike; to promote and practice. Natural history collectors are an easy target and scapegoat for those whose own direct and indirect actions lead to environmental degradation (a discussion outside the scope of this article). Habitat destruction has a greater impact on the flora and fauna than any perceived pressures from responsible collectors; plain and simple!
Yes, conchology “is” our escape from the day-to-day rigors of life... let's make sure we are afforded the opportunity to continue collecting shells unfettered from governmental regulation by policing our own activities and setting an example of being good stewards to the living and breathing environment; and that starts by being responsible shell collectors.
No matter how you classify yourself, as a field or armchair conchologist, you should now add "responsible" to that badge of honor!
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