Commercially harvested saltwater snails are reported in two broad categories in Florida, commercial (largely intended as food or bait) and marine life (largely for aquariums). Some landings data are reported in both state and federal databases and some (primarily marine life) are only reported in state databases. Smaller snails like Nassarius , Marginella , Turbo (Fig. 1) and Lithopoma, are marketed as to the live aquarium trade either as grazers or prey for other aquarium organisms. Some , such as Melongena , may be reported as marine life but may also be landed as bait for trap fisheries. Still others, such as Triplofusus , Cypraea , Cassis and Cymatium, are likely being harvested at least in part for the collectable shells.
Landings of marine life snails such as the Turbo and Lithopoma snails (both Turbinidae) , can exceed one million individuals harvested per year but are commonly reported from only a few Florida counties . Preliminary randomized surveys to assess abundance and distribution in the Florida Keys (Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties) , where harvest is high, found that Lithopoma star snails were widespread (present at 40% of stations) while Turbo spp. were found at only 5% of stations. This finding suggests non-random distribution of Turbo, which may indicate a higher susceptibility to potential over-exploitation of limited stocks. While currently abundant, these small herbivorous snails with individual unit prices of up to several U.S. dollars may present a potential market for niche aquaculture.
On-line searches reveal almost endless shells for sale where asking prices for exceptional shells such as tritons, helmet shells and very large Florida horse conch can reach hundreds of U.S. dollars. Even juvenile horse conch shells (Fig. 1) are listed and have asking prices of $5-10 or more. Some sales occur through commercial sites but many are also offered for sale by individual harvesters. Current rules allow harvest of live shells using a recreational fishing permit, but there is no mechanism for reporting such landings by recreational fishers. The sale of shells that recreational fishers have live-harvested is not technically legal in Florida. Unfortunately, collection of empty shells is not regulated, and enforcing the rules for sale of shells collected live by recreational fishers would present enforcement challenges.