Where Have All the Seashells Disappeared To?

Important Insights

As humans, we're naturally drawn to the ocean, which is why it’s only natural that we’d want to take a piece of it home. However, be cautious: Collecting beach souvenirs could land you in jail if you're not careful about the laws.

For example, in early summer 2018, a Texas woman was fined $500 and sentenced to 15 days in jail by a Florida judge for illegally taking 40 queen conch shells during her vacation in Key West.

Queen conchs are marine snails that produce stunning shells of their own creation. Florida allows the collection of empty shells, but taking one with a live conch inside is illegal. Unfortunately for the Texas woman, the seashells she took still had living mollusks inside them.

Floridians hold these marine treasures close. On the shell-rich island of Sanibel (a barrier island near Fort Meyers), beachcombing draws many tourists. When locals noticed their valuable shells disappearing, they took action. In the late 20th century, there was growing concern that out-of-towners were taking too many shells. To protect this resource, Sanibel implemented a ban on collecting shells that still contained live mollusks, as well as sand dollars, starfish, and sea urchins. The ban, effective in 1995, has since expanded to cover the entire county.

Crime and Clams

If you've noticed a decline in seashells on the beaches you visit, it’s not just the result of souvenir-hunting by tourists. Organized poaching has emerged as a serious global issue. Vincent Nijman, an anthropology professor at Oxford Brookes University in the U.K., co-authored a 2015 study where he documented the illegal trade of Indonesia's protected shells.

The Indonesian government maintains a list of mollusks that are illegal to collect or trade within the country’s borders. Species like the chambered nautilus, Triton’s trumpet, and certain giant clams are among those protected by law.

However, poaching remains widespread. Nijman’s research reveals 20 illegal shipments intercepted by Indonesian authorities between 2008 and 2013, which collectively included more than 42,000 shells — worth an estimated $700,000 — from protected species.

"It’s important to clarify that we’re not talking about tourists casually collecting a few shells on the beach and taking them home in their suitcase," Nijman explains in an email. "This involves large-scale, commercial trafficking, where shells are collected through methods like scuba diving and cages, often emptying whole sections of the ocean floor."

He highlights that poachers often target occupied shells and destroy the mollusks inside. "When alive, the shell is in perfect condition," he states. This makes it more valuable, as shells "washed up on the beach are usually damaged."

Shell-shocked

Mollusks aren’t the only creatures affected by the reckless overharvesting of seashells. When snails, nautiluses, and other sea animals pass away naturally, their empty shells often become homes for new inhabitants. "The most obvious example is hermit crabs, which use empty shells for protection," says Michal Kowalewski, an ecologist from the University of Florida, in an email. "In many marine habitats, it’s difficult to find a vacant shell ... [because] hermit crabs occupy almost all of them." It turns out that the availability of shells is a key factor limiting the population of these roaming crustaceans.

Shells provide more than just housing. "Many other creatures bore into shells for shelter or to extract calcium carbonate," Kowalewski explains. "Boring sponges are a prime example." Some animals prefer to attach themselves to the outer surfaces, turning shells into durable anchors. "A variety of organisms, including mollusks, arthropods (barnacles), bryozoans, foraminifera, annelid worms, and more, utilize shells this way." Even birds find shells useful: Vasa parrots consume ground-up seashells as a mineral supplement.

Bad for Beaches, Bad for the Economy

Llarga Beach, a charming spot on the Iberian Peninsula, is located in Salou, Spain. With its growing popularity as a vacation destination, Kowalewski wanted to study how this increase in human activity was impacting the local ecosystem. From July 1978 to July 1981, he and his team conducted monthly surveys of all seashell material found on Llarga Beach. Kowalewski revisited the beach for another round of surveys between 2008 and 2010.

His findings were far from optimistic. Tourism statistics showed nearly a threefold surge in visitors between 1980 and 2010. During that same span, the number of seashells on Llarga Beach had diminished by over 60 percent. A mere coincidence? Unlikely.

Other coastal communities should be on alert for similar drops in seashell numbers — and it’s not just about the environment. Shells naturally break down into particles larger than typical sand grains, aiding in the battle against erosion. Seashell fragments, as Kowalewski points out, "can form pavements that may obstruct" the movement of shoreline sediment by winds, waves, and water currents. Over-harvesting shells could ultimately make it harder for beaches to withstand erosion.

"To state the obvious," Kowalewski remarks, "shoreline erosion could have serious consequences for us since coasts are densely populated and [it] could affect structures and infrastructure."

So, what’s the way forward? "Many countries already have strong laws to prevent overharvesting," Nijman observes. "Companies and individuals ... should comply with existing regulations, and authorities must enforce them." He emphasizes that prosecutors and judges need to treat large-scale poaching operations more seriously. "It’s an economic crime and should be treated accordingly."

In the meantime, it might be wise for the rest of us to capture more memories with photos and take fewer tangible mementos from the beaches we cherish.