Yilan fisherman releases rare sea snail per deal with buyer

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) An Yilan fisherman who caught a Rumphius' slit shell, a rare deep-water sea snail, released it back into the wild Tuesday, in accordance with the wishes of a man who purchased it for NT$120,000 (US$3,748).

After finding the conical, 20-by-15-centimeter mollusk while bottom trawl fishing near Guishan Island on Saturday, Lin Tien-ming (林天明), a resident of Daxi Village in Toucheng Township, put it up for sale online.

As news of the catch spread, the National Taiwan Museum said in a social media post Sunday that such rare sea snails should be "returned to nature" if caught, and should not be treated as collector's items.

Lin, however, rejected the suggestion, citing the shell's market value and the cost of gasoline used on a 6-to-7-hour trip to sea.

"If I caught a green sea turtle or another protected species, I would let it go. But a Rumphius' slit shell is not a protected species, and so there's no way," he told CNA on Monday.

As he waited for offers, Lin said he and his wife had stayed up all night monitoring the sea snail, making frequent trips to the convenience store for ice to keep its water temperature at the recommended 16-17 degrees Celsius.

Over the course of two days, Lin said he received offers for NT$60,000, NT$80,000, NT$100,000, NT$116,000, NT$120,000 and NT$160,000.

In the end, he said, he decided to sell it for NT$120,000 to a Taipei resident surnamed Liu (劉), who offered to buy it on condition that it be released back into the wild.

To fulfill the terms of the deal, Lin set out from Daxi Fishing Harbor at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday. At around 4 a.m., he used his phone to record as a boat hand removed the sea snail from a bucket, displayed it for the camera and released it into the sea near Guishan Island.

The Rumpius' slit shell is the largest species in the family of slit snails (Pleurotomariidae), which are named for the distinctive long slit running halfway along their shells.

The species is found in waters between Japan and the Philippines at a depth of 100-400 meters. Their shells are sought after by collectors due to their rareness, size and beauty.