I have spoken out before in this forum and elsewhere about the sale of Nautilus. While I deplore the capture and sale of any rare species, particularly when it is simply for commercial purposes, I think there are a couple of points to be made here. The first is that just because the Nautilus is rather exotic and difficult to keep, why should we be any more outraged at its sale than for that of any number of other fish, octopus, cuttlefish or crustaceans that have little chance of survival for more than a few days, weeks or months in captivity - particularly in the hands of amateurs.
Secondly, if you want to protect Nautilus, the real danger to the various species, aside from marine pollution and habitat destruction, is the capture of specimens simply for the sale of their shells. From high end boutiques to curio and souvenir shops around the world you can find Nautilus shells used in decorative displays and for sale. Most of these shells were not found washed up on the beach where they were collected by small children for sale to help support the family. They come from trapping and other commerical fishing operations that specifically target Nautilus for capture to obtain their unblemished shells. These shell collectors have no intention of keeping Nautilus alive for sale in the aquarium trade.
If you search Ebay, you can occasionally find for sale a live Nautilus. You can find hundreds of Nautilus shells offered for sale. Rather than getting all riled up over the occasional sale of a live Nautilus, outrage would be better directed at the commercial sale of Nautilus (and other shells) that come from the collection of living mollusks. Not only is this industry targeting rare and endangered species such as some cephalopods, their collection methods are often indiscriminate killing a great diversity of organims and destroying the habitat in the process.
Sorry! I'll get off my soapbox now, but I do a slow burn every time I see a Nautilus shell for saie in an airport souvenir shop or used as an exotic prop in an luxury jewelry store window display.
Roy Caldwell
