Seashell lover- which beaches/ports have shells?

[psynurse]

Collect shells from near and far. Would love to find my own seashells while travelling in SE Asia. Also, can i just take them? Can i find them near the shore? Appreciate any info, thanks, 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, psynurse said:

Collect shells from near and far. Would love to find my own seashells while travelling in SE Asia. Also, can i just take them? Can i find them near the shore? Appreciate any info, thanks, 

Besides any local prohibitions against removal of "natural features" (which includes sand, shells etc), you would, upon your return to the US, have to declare to US Dept of Agriculture inspection anything not commercially treated and packaged for import into the US.

Since it's the microbial things you can't see (in those collected items) that may have the potential to devastate the ecology of regions heavily reliant on agriculture (e.g., Hawaii, California et al.), it is best that you "look and don't take." 

And, if you must have shells, buy inspected packaged ones in a reputable souvenir shop and STILL declare them.

Note as well, that many cruise lines will have clearly marked bins at port stops directing you to deposit sand, shells, soil, etc on your return to the ship.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Flatbush Flyer

[spookwife]

no you cannot 'just take them'   its illegal in the country you are removing them from and illegal to import into the US unless certain measures have been taken( commercial level measures, not you rinsing it out in the sink )  

 

 

[cb at sea]

Many countries have laws against taking indigenous stuff from their country.  Google the laws for the places you'll visit.  You do NOT want to get into trouble for transporting illegal stuff!

[angie7911922]

As others have said, I wouldn't recommend walking off with a bunch of shells. Check the laws in the ports that you are visiting. If it is legal to take shells from those ports, make sure you declare them when you get back to the U.S. 

[slidergirl]

Take a cruise out of Port Canaveral.  The local beach, Cocoa Beach, is full of sea shells!  Go to the beach south of Minuteman Causeway (out by Coconuts bar & restaurant) and you will find tons of shells.

Edited December 23, 2018 by slidergirl

[shipgeeks]

9 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Take a cruise out of Port Canaveral.  The local beach, Cocoa Beach, is full of sea shells!  Go to the beach south of Minuteman Causeway (out by Coconuts bar & restaurant) and you will find tons of shells.

But you will probably be prohibited from taking them back onto the ship.

[WatchHill]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

But you will probably be prohibited from taking them back onto the ship.

Last week we were returning to the ship and going through the security scanners on the Celebrity Edge, the woman in front of me was pulled over and her bag was opened to reveal a few shells and a bag of sand. I saw her detained to the side, and security called for an agricultural inspector to examine what she claimed she "bought" in the port, but had no receipt. I really wanted to linger to see how this played out, but wasn't able.  So, leave the sand and shells; take back pictures and memories.

 

Darcy

[evandbob]

Everyone knows what happens when tourists remove rocks and whatnot from Hawaiian beaches - Pele gets mad and sends bad karma their way until the stuff gets returned to its rightful place.

[slidergirl]

3 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

But you will probably be prohibited from taking them back onto the ship.

 

Only if there is an Ag check, like there is in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.   But, I failed to realize the OP was talking about shell beaches in Asia, so my comment is moot, anyway.   Madame Pele does not want you to take any of the volcanic rocks from Hawaii - a pox falls on anyone who does!  Shells - those "animals" have shed those houses and left them.  But, if everyone takes a couple of shells, we run out of product to turn into sand...

[shipgeeks]

When going to ports with beaches, our cruise planners (daily paper) almost always say that shells, sand, etc. may not be brought back on board.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

When going to ports with beaches, our cruise planners (daily paper) almost always say that shells, sand, etc. may not be brought back on board.

 

You'd think that anyone who passed high school biology would remember that it's the microbes et al. that you can't see that can devastate an agricultural ecology.

 

Those inspection stations in Ag dependent states like HI and CA aren't there for show.

 

Please don't disturb natural features anywhere.

[Flatbush Flyer]

And your point is?

Whether it's the Mediterranean fruit fly or a smaller, microbial pest is somewhat irrelevant.

The issue is guarding against invasive species.

If folks would just read/obey the laws/rules, it would help to deter problems that could cost them far more at the grocery store than they saved by pilfering a few cents worth of sand and seashells.

[spookwife]

6 hours ago, fyree39 said:

The fruit fly wasn't a microbe.

 

We can take two routes to my in-laws, one crossing into Nevada at Stateline and the other crossing at Beatty.  The Stateline route has an agriculture inspection stop when returning to California.  The other has no inspection stop.  

 

I digress.  I brought a conch home that I purchased at one of the Caribbean shops at the port.  Only when I got home did I find out this sort of purchase could have landed me in trouble.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I do feel a little bit bad that I bought that shell.  

 

 

depends on where you bought it.   I have one that mr spook picked up during one of his many deployments from an 'authorized'  vendor that met all conditions for import/export.