HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS - EIGHT YEARS OF DEEP-WATER SHELLING

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Rhys

A long-form narrative from members of the Hawaiian Malacological Society describes eight years of deep-water shelling off Hawaiian islands, the use of crab and lobster trapping techniques, and how unexpected shell finds led to growing expertise. The authors recount relocating from Oahu to Maui, developing improved traps with boats and equipment, consulting scientists, and highlighting specimens that may represent new species, including Phalium umbilicatum.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time17 min

AccessFree to download

Hawaiian Shell News - Eight Years of Deep-Water Shelling

Deep-water trapping off the Hawaiian islands

Relocation, equipment, and trapping development

Shell identification and conservation practices

VOL.XXIV NO.5 by DIANE DONNER For the past eight years my husband Georgeand I,both HMS members,have been engagedin deep-water trapping off several of theHawaiian islands.Our objective is to make aliving but in the process we have brought to lightsome remarkable shells. At least two of these shells (one shown to theright)appear to be new species.We have shownthem to Dr.E.Alison Kay,Associate Dean ofthe Graduate School,University of Hawaii,whowe hope will include and describe them in herforthcoming monograph on Hawaiian mollusks. The story of our deep-sea trapping may sug-gest to other members a useful shelling tech-nique.An earlier report(HSN June 1972)in-spired a Bermuda resident to start a similaroperation.Shellwise,his results were encourag-ing,but I don't know whether the operation wascontinued. When our family came to windward Oahufrom San Diego,we intended to fish for lobsterfor a year or two,then return to the Mainland.As you see,we are still here!George was born inHawaii and his family is still here,so the movewas something like coming home. The first year,we fished for lobsters with netson the reef.We were fairly successful,but whenthe seEson ended for the summer we were leftwith nothing to tide us over unil it opened againin the fall.So we began experimenting withtraps for crabs,and by the time the next lobsterseason ended we were in a better position. At that time we had a helper from Puget # HAWAlIANSTHLELLNEWS EIGHT YEARS OF DEEP-WATER SHELLING Apparently unnamed,this Oliva sp.wasbrought up in a crab trap from more than 400feet of water off Kahuku,Oahu,Hawaii.Theonly prerious knoun whole specimen wasdredged by the Research Vessel Pele off Hono-lulu in the mid-1960s.Photo:Kemp Sound with experience at catching Dungenesscrabs.He and George put their heads together,did a lot of studying and talking,and built theirfirst traps of chicken wire and steel rods.As theylearned the business,one type of trap led to an-other.Soon we were almost completely out ofthe lobster-netting business. In time we got bigger boats,added hydraulicwinches,and learned to use the fathometer. Results were consistently good—when theocean permitted.But Windward Oahu is wellnamed;it is exposed to the often-boisterousnortheast trades and for weeks on end work off-shore is chancy.We seemed to be kept ashore asoften as we could go out.Early in 1975 wemoved to Maui. In time,George developed a reputation as aconcerned conservationist.He felt that his effortto find new sources of cheap and fresh seafoodwas taking some of the pressure off the inshorereefs. In the beginning,we didn't know anythingabout shells.In fact,we were rather surprisedwhen these beauties came up in our traps.Mostof them were “crabbed,"but at first we didn'trecognize the difference between them and the "live"shells.We would wash them,get thesmell out by the straight-bleach method,andthen leave them around the house in baskets asdecoration or give them to visitors. One day George brought home a beautifulround bluish shell with spots,different from anyprevious find.I took it to Roy Watanabe,alongtime HMS member and neighborHegasped when I held it out to show him.That wasour introduction to Phalium umbilicatum(Pease,1860)—still a prize in our collection.That was the shell that really got us started. After that we went around our garden,digging up the old shells from under the bushesand asking questions in earnest. We dislike killing the animals in the shellsunless they can be used for food.George wouldtry to remove the hermit crabs unharmed andturn them loose with instructions“Go findanother shell and come back tomorrow."I recallone crab that held out in“his”shell for severaldays unti he built up enough nerve to go househunting. Some hermit crabs are large with powerfulpincers.The safest thing to do with them is towait! We had a great deal of help in those earlydays from Roy Watanabe and E.R.Cross.Roytook many photos for us,and Ellis was alwaysrea

FAQs

What started the authors’ shelling efforts off the Hawaiian islands?

They worked for eight years on deep-water trapping off several islands to make a living, and remarkable shells they found in traps sparked their growing interest.

How did the authors improve their trapping methods over time?

They moved from lobster-netting and reef fishing to experimenting with crab traps, then built larger traps, used bigger boats, hydraulic winches, and added tools like a fathometer.

Which shell is specifically highlighted as an early turning point?

A beautiful round bluish shell with spots led to identifying Phalium umbilicatum (Pease, 1860), which the authors say really got them started.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Rhys