February 2012    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 27, No. 2   What's this?

Loving the Chambered Nautilus to Death

from the February, 2012 issue of Undercurrent  

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With all the focus on depleting numbers of sharks and other marine creatures, there's not much attention paid to the chambered nautilus, a living fossil dating back a half-billion years but now in danger of being wiped out. Peter D. Ward, a biologist from the University of Washington, did a census of the marine creature in the Philippines last summer, and told the New York Times, "A horrendous slaughter is going on out here."

Sales of jewelry and ornaments derived from the nautilus's pearly shell have grown, and fishermen have been killing it by the millions to satisfy worldwide demand. On eBay, small shells sell as earrings for $20, and big ones, up to the size of plates, can be found for $56. Catching the nautilus is a largely unregulated free-for-all in which fishermen from the South Pacific accept $1 per shell. But the rising demand may end up eradicating an animal that grows slowly and needs 15 years or more to reach sexual maturity....