Mee ge
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cee
408354
UNIV
AccTY Os RAWAT
WAVTITIT TOSS ic“han
aA! wahee
-
RQ
Deparunent of Zoslogy
nmRNY
August 13,
ada &
1968
™
Mr. Stewart L:. Udail
Secretary of the [Interior
Government of the United States of America
Washington, D. C.
Dear Secretary: Udall:
The enclosed article in this evening's Honolulu Star-Bulletin
haS Stimulated me to write this letier to you.
I am sencing copies
of this letter to Dr. Donald C. Matthews of this University anc
Dr. Edward FE. ileld of the Radiation Laboratory, University of wacnington, Seattle, who like wyself have been interested in the biology of
the coconut <rab for many years.
J feel it is correct to Say tnat
between the three of us we know more about the biology of coconut crabs
than any.other group of persons in the world.
JI em also sending a copy
of this letter to Dr. F. Reymond FPosberpg of the Atoll Research Poard,
of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
I do not believe that it is ras to exterminate tne
lation of Coconut crabs on Bikini
Atoll.
Jn the first piece,
program would be very cifficult to “cerry out effectively becaus
the crabs molt they remain buried beneath the ground for peri
long aS a month and possibly longer in the case of large crab
the extermination program would have to be carried out for ma
to be effective.
To ceny the Bikini Islanders access to thei
while this difficult, wasteful, unnecessary and expensive procran
being carricd out certainly does not make sense.
oO
ry
Even more aiSturbing to me is the idea of destroying an imp
WW
Source of food in the atoli ecosystem.
AS it is these [sland
lead difficuit lives witn food levels frequently barely meetin
sistance necas of the community.
I believe that oaly the larger, older crabs are racioace;
is because they were exposscd
to
the
early high levels of radi
the radio strontium has been maintained in their bodies beca
eat their old exoskeletohs at each molt.
Younger animats ree
‘
we
ii |2
es
into the»population siftce the Atomic testing ee at Bikini snou
net be radioactive.
ae
“A
%:
*
,
.
br. licid has published figurcs indicating
e
BEST COPY AVAILABLE