Shell harvester jailed

[Wookie]

Pleases enlighten this non-Floridian.

You describe finding the conchs while diving. According to how I understand the story, she collected living conchs on the beach. I have never seen a living conch on a beach anywhere. Is that a routine possibility in that area?

No, if she was in Key West, I expect she was at Higgs Beach, which is a gravel beach about 4 feet wide, which immediately turns into grass beds that are conch nurseries. We now have a ton of conch here, although the seagrass beds are taking a hell of a hit from pollution. Anyway, it's about the only place where you can walk in "Off the beach" and collect as many young conch as you like. The White Street pier (a walking pier) goes off of Higgs beach and even at the end, 200 yards out, the water is only waist deep.

Word in town is that the fish cop let her off with a "gimme" ticket, and she was given the max term for it. Had she been caught poaching conch instead, the jail time would have been significant. As it's federal, and in a sanctuary.

 

[herman]

My guess is she was not "on the beach" but rather wading in a shallow area in a bay.
Again my gut feeling on this but I kinda doubt having that many live shells and no empty ones they didn't know what they were doing. They are quite good eating.

 

[Dogbowl]

My gut feeling is she knew what she was doing and it was not her first time.

"According to a press release, a Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) officer discovered her with three plastic containers of conches."

 

[svs]

Beach is a relative term for the Keys. Usually it is sandy areas of sea bottom surrounded by grassy or limestone areas where conch is common

Pleases enlighten this non-Floridian.

You describe finding the conchs while diving. According to how I understand the story, she collected living conchs on the beach. I have never seen a living conch on a beach anywhere. Is that a routine possibility in that area?

 

[kelemvor]

Beach is a relative term for the Keys. Usually it is sandy areas of sea bottom surrounded by grassy or limestone areas where conch is common

I remember seeing several beaches. They really suck compared to the beaches in my area of Florida, but they were obviously popular. I'm guessing folks from landlocked or northern states must have been all about them.

 

[iamrushman]

i think that is too many for her collection....

 

[Wookie]

i think that is too many for her collection....

SHe was going to give fritters as gift..... Shells!! Clean the shells and give them as gifts!! Yeah, that's it.

 

[tarponchik]

I feel sorry for her kids, must be quite a shock for them. But dura lex, sed lex, as the Romans used to say, throwing offenders to lions.

Off topic, but can someone tell me which snails jump when approached underwater? They look pretty much like ones pictured in this news story.

 

[Wookie]

I feel sorry for her kids, must be quite a shock for them. But dura lex, sed lex, as the Romans used to say, throwing offenders to lions.

Off topic, but can someone tell me which snails jump when approached underwater? They look pretty much like ones pictured in this news story.

Only snail I've ever seen move (what I'd call jump) is a sea hare.

 

[tarponchik]

Only snail I've ever seen move (what I'd call jump) is a sea hare.

I've seen the jumping snails near the Blue Heron Bridge. When approached, they jump about 1-1.5 ft away. As for other species, I've seen many other moving in a normal snail way: large conches, flamingo tongues and yellow cowrees in Florida and in the Caribbean, Triton Trumpets in Hawaii, rapanas in the Black and Japanese seas...I even saw Emperor's Helmet snailing on the sand once.