[meteorite-list] Meteorite Collecting Ban

From: mark ford <markf_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:16:31 2004
Message-ID: <6CE3EEEFE92F4B4085B0E086B2941B31D8CB_at_s-southern01.s-southern.com>

Jeff,=20

Thanks for clearing up the exact numbers! I never realized so many where

found in the Antarctic.

.. it makes me even more sure that, since the Antarctic meteorites are
already 'protected from private sale', banning collecting would not
increase the number available to science, probably the reverse in fact.

Unless we suddenly recruited thousands of scientists to scour the
deserts and plains for rusty OC's I doubt whether science would find
more than the dealers they simply wouldn't have the resources to search
the world.

I also think that there is little further scientific value to be gained
once a fall has been classified, studied and samples put into scientific
collections, what would we do you do with the rest of the surplus rock,
lock it away so no one else can learn about them?

The bottom line is we need the scientists and they need us! Its just a
case of finding a happy medium.

Legislation not needed.

Mark
Received on Fri 08 Aug 2003 09:07:39 AM PDT