Where Do I Look for Shells?

• Rock tide pools
• Sandbars
• Tidal flats
• Seaweed
• Piers
• Driftlines
  

Why Is the Shell Empty?

• Red tides from nitrates and phosphates
• Invasive non-native species
• Predators may:
  - Bore holds and take contents
  - Pry open contents
  - Swallow whole and then discard shell later
  

What Time is Best for Shelling?

Go during low tide for the greatest expanse of beach and shells - check weather reports for low tide times.

Go after a storm - cold fronts can push water away from the beach, somewhat like a low tide and tropical storms can churn up the water to bring shells ashore.

Where Is the Best Shelling?

See Coastal Living Magazine (March 2007) for the complete story and map.

1. Sanibel Island, Florida
2. Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
3. Bandon, Oregon
4. Galveston, Texas
5. Tunnels Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
6. Flag Ponds Nature Park, Lusby, Maryland
7. Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
8. Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas
9. Great Peconic Bay, Long Island, New York
10. Stinson Beach, California

When Did Collecting Begin?

Aristotle – 4th century B.C.
- Wrote about mollusk behavior and anatomy in his History of Animals – 332 B.C.

What Am I Really Collecting?

Abandoned mollusk vehicles, traps, and homes – conchs, welks, etc.
- Made of calcium carbonate
- Secreted by the mantle of the mollusk

Echinoderms – sand dollars, sea stars
- Slow or no moving calcium bodies with tube feet

What Is a Conscientious Sheller?

If you take a reasonable amount of shells without animals living inside and do not permanently disturb the habitats of mollusks, you do not adversely affect the shell population. Thus, you are a conscientious sheller who follows practices that are environmentally sound and respect the rights of other shellers to collect specimens.