Gabi Loco is Open for Business!

[mstevens]

I'm confused. It's "okay" to kill flamingo tongues because they were taken OUTSIDE the park boundaries?........SERIOUSLY? We all know that their shells aren't exactly lying around dead on the bottom.

You may be confused. Who said anything about killing flamingo tongues? We do not "all know their shells aren't exactly lying around dead on the bottom". I see them fairly frequently during dives (and have had to shoo others away from collecting them from the bottom several times) and I found 4 in good shape on eastside beaches in one afternoon last week. We have something in the range of 50 flamingo tongue shells collected from beaches in Mexico and the Bahamas. We discussed donating them to Gabi, but we can no longer be sure which came from where and he wants to use local shells. The shells in the jewelry we bought all show some wear and pitting and are pretty clearly not the result of live collecting.

However, yes, it would be legally OK to collect living flamingo tongues outside the marine park, just as collecting specimens of all sorts of other species is legal there. Lots of people in Cozumel make their living from the sea, including the spearfishers I mentioned (who spear fish), line and net fishers, lobster and crab collectors, black coral artists, and so on. The many conch shells for sale all over the island come from a species considerably more endangered than the flamingo tongue, and I discourage anyone from purchasing those.

Since the pattern and coloration of Flamingo Tongue shells are actually due to the mantle (which it wears over it's shell), once the nudibranch dies the shell is very plain.

Snail. Nudibranchs don't have shells after their larval stage

It does have somewhat of an unusual shape, but I wouldn't call this shell anything special.

I like the shape.

maybe they ARE laying around on the bottom and I've never noticed?

If you look at the bottom a lot, you'll definitely find them, especially outside octopus dens.

Seems quite a shame to kill them for jewelry...

I agree, but I don't know that anyone is killing them for jewelry. We bought every last one he had. That was three. There are a LOT more than 3 live flamingo tongues to be found on a single dive by anyone looking for them.

Gabi was a divemaster. I don't think he's interested in killing the ocean even though it tried to kill him.

 

[Mike]

They're sold out (because we bought all of them) right now, but he's making some great pendants out of flamingo tongue shells and silver. They look wonderful and are highly appropriate for Cozumel divers. The shells are collected by his spearfishing friends outside the marine park and the silver work is done for him by a guy at cost, so all the profits go to Gabi. This is a unique item you can't get anywhere else. He's getting more as fast as he can. I'm afraid I can't post a pic right now because I just returned to the US and my wife has them all in Cozumel.

Please post a picture if you remember, I'd like to see them. I was under the impression that FTs lose all those cool spots when they die, so I'm interested in that as well as seeing the actual jewelry aspect too.

 

[Pelagicsal]

Mark, I hope you're right on the jewelry being from found shells instead of harvested ones...
Yes, there are many live ones, and I hope they remain.

Mike, those spots do vanish when the animal dies. They're on its mantle / skin. The shell is peach and / or white.

Now I'd just like to find fingerprint cyphomas again...

Yes, know who Gabi is and the story. Saw him at the finish of the Ironman 70.3...

 

[mstevens]

Please post a picture if you remember, I'd like to see them. I was under the impression that FTs lose all those cool spots when they die, so I'm interested in that as well as seeing the actual jewelry aspect too.

The shells in the jewelry are pure white, which further suggests they've had some time to bleach after the snail died. I've seen light pinkish-tan ones on the bottom and picked up one diving outside the park that is still that color years later.

The silver is a simple band around the circumferential ridge of the shell, so it hangs horizontally.

I'll try to get a photo, but I think Tracy has already packed them up so it probably won't be for a week.

I'm still looking for a fingerprint cyphoma...

 

[kixy1]

Here's an article that explains the mantle and has a photo of the shell.

The Flamingo Tongue: A spotty snail with a secret shell | Odd Organisms

 

[cvchief]

Here's an article that explains the mantle and has a photo of the shell.

The Flamingo Tongue: A spotty snail with a secret shell | Odd Organisms

I so totally get the idea, but I can't see it. I mean I can't see an edge of the mantle wrapping the shell. Now tell me it swallowed the shell and I get it, but this wrapping thing I can't see when I look at one. I mean can you fold its little body out like opening a knife or what. Where does the mantle connect to the body? Where does it end on the shell?

Will Dudley get Nell off the tracks in time?

These are the things I wonder about.....

 

[mstevens]

You've seen snails, right? That foot they can extend and crawl around on? Now imagine that one side of that foot is reaaaaaally wide off to one side. That's essentially what the mantle is: a really long foot extension. It comes out of the slit in the shell through which everything else comes out, and can wrap all the way around the shell to the other side.

 

[ggunn]

You've seen snails, right? That foot they can extend and crawl around on? Now imagine that one side of that foot is reaaaaaally wide off to one side. That's essentially what the mantle is: a really long foot extension. It comes out of the slit in the shell through which everything else comes out, and can wrap all the way around the shell to the other side.

If it's like a cowrie, the mantle comes out through the slit, splits, and meets on the top. In all my years of going to Cozumel I have found just one cowrie while snorkeling behind what is now Blue Angel. I picked it up and put it in a bucket of seawater so we could watch it do its thing.

 

[LoveOceanicGears]

I never dived with Gabi. But after learning what happened to him on Scubaboard, I decided to visit his store during my May trip.

First trip to his store, it was closed for the day. So I returned another day. This time, I was lucky enough to catch Gabi watching the store. Although his store is not located at high traffic area, it is not difficult to find or get to. And the picture of Opal hanging in the middle of store pretty much tells everyone that is the real Gabi's store.

As a diver, I avoid purchasing anything that is made with sea life. In his store, the only items that caught my attention are some hand painted magnets with diving theme. He offered me 4 for price of 3. I took 3 and paid him price of 3.

After I handed him the money, I told him I am a diver and I heard about what he did, and it is a very heroic act of him. Then conversation started. He briefly told me what happened on that day, his decision to save Opal, even though he understood the danger he was getting into. Followed by his struggle right after the accident, and his determination to continue live his life fully now.

The inspiration I got from our conversation is worth much more than the money I paid to him.

I just wish his store has more unique diving related gifts, not the same items as everyone else on Meglar.

 

[mstevens]

We told him that we think the market he should be pursuing is those who've already bought whatever stuff the other stores are selling or those, like divers, who appreciate the sea the way he does.

At one point he had some great crocheted caps that we use on the dive boat when it's chilly (think Jacques Cousteau's red toque).

Over time, his stock has changed from more local and Mayan things to stuff a bit more like what's in other shops. That's a shame, but it's what he can get and what he can afford to keep in stock.