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I just want to remind everyone (esp w summer approaching in the northern hemisphere) that when you are looking for shells on a beach that you are doing so ethically.

Many beaches currently have a shelling ban, meaning if you find one, leave it there. This is because shells greatly impact the coastline ecosystem, offering homes and latching points to many organisms, offering minerals as they break down, and creating sand in the middle of a global sand shortage.

Additionally many countries have bans on taking shells in luggage, even by car. It’s important that you ‘know before you go’ on vacation. You can look up a specific beaches laws prior to your visit, and when in doubt leave shells where they are.

For my witches: I know many posts suggest taking shells home as offerings, esp older sources, however due to the nature of the situation it’s best they are left where they are. Rather than taking them, bless them, skip them closer to the waves as offerings, make fun sigils around them in the sand before they are washed away, honor the species they came from as a muse, charge shells in sunlight or moonlight before placing them back. Ideas are infinite, so depending on what you need them for there are beach equivalents that are ocean friendly!

Finally: please don’t introduce foreign materials into the water systems, buying commercial shells just to put back, adding random crystals to beaches, buying shells from beach shops (unethical to begin with) and trying to put them back. Many of these objects either are not native to the area, or have been treated for craft purposes, or like in the cases of beach stores have been brought from international sources. These shells are no longer beach safe, and risk introducing things into the water ways that don’t belong.

We can respect these beauties from a distance, our water ways need us 🙌