Scientists Warn Against Taking Shells Home

Elaenor Nield wrote this story.

It is from ABC Great Southern.

The topic is oceans.

The story was published on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 8:07 am.

Many seashells have come back to Albany's Middleton Beach.

Sherie Van Burgel loves collecting seashells with her family in Albany, which is 400 kilometers south of Perth.

She often takes her kids to the beach to look for shells because it's a fun activity in Albany.

When there's a big storm, she says, 'Let's go find the prettiest shells!'

Sherie Van Burgel and her kids search for shells at the beach.

They feel lucky to have many beautiful shells in Albany. They have big and small shells of all shapes.

Their house is decorated with many shells.

Sherie loves taking her kids to the beach to look for shells.

After a big storm in June 2025, there were many shells on the beach, but since then, there haven't been as many.

The Great Southern area has many different kinds of shells.

Tim Langlois, a marine biologist, says the south coast of Western Australia has many seashells from species found only there.

He likes collecting seashells in his free time.

Dr. Langlois says this is because of the ocean currents and the nutrients that come from the land into the sea.

Many of the species that live under the sea grow slowly and can only be found in a few places, so there may be many unknown species.

Dr. Langlois says the many different marine creatures mean that shell collectors can find beautiful and unusual shells.

There's a collection of paper nautiluses from Denmark, Western Australia.

Sometimes they find amazing things like paper nautiluses, nautilus shells, and ram's horn squid shells.

The question is whether to collect shells or leave them.

Most people don't think about taking a few shells when they're at the beach, but in Western Australia, you can only collect 10 shells per day for most species.

Nathan English, a professor of Environmental Science, says there's a reason for this limit.

He says, 'Nature needs those shells more than we need them for decoration.'

Nature uses shells as homes, grit, or building materials for the next generation.

Nathan English thinks seashells should be left in nature.

He suggests taking pictures or drawing the shells and then leaving them at the beach.

You can play with the shells, use them in your sandcastle, and then leave them when you go home.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development allows some exceptions for collecting shells to make art.

Collecting shells helps people connect with nature.

For Sherie Van Burgel and her kids, collecting shells is a way to appreciate the coastal environment they live in.

She knows about the 10-shell limit and makes sure they don't collect more than that.

Oliver Van Burgel likes making things with the shells he finds.

Collecting shells helps them feel connected to the ocean and nature.

There's a saying that if you put a shell to your ear, you can hear the ocean, which is like magic.

Get local news from ABC Great Southern in your inbox.

The story was published on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 8:07 am.

See more ABC coverage in your search results.

Promotion

Practice Listening