Shells are not souvenirs. They are part of the beach.
- Leonardo Merçon
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Walking along the shore and finding seashells is a nearly universal experience. Their shapes, colors, and textures draw our attention. When I was a child, I spent hours searching for shells of all kinds. I especially loved the rounded ones.
Many people pick one up, slip it into a pocket, and take it home. On its own, it seems harmless. The problem begins when this small gesture is repeated millions of times, every day, along kilometers of coastline.
What looks like a detail becomes an absence. And absence always has a cost.
What shells do for the beach
Shells are not there by chance. They are structures produced by mollusks and composed mainly of calcium carbonate. As they break down over time, they return this material to the environment, helping form the sand itself and maintain the ocean’s chemical balance, including seawater pH.
Shells are also shelter. They are protection.
Hermit crabs, for example, do not produce shells of their own. They depend entirely on empty shells to survive. Other animals use shell fragments as refuge, camouflage, or attachment surfaces. Algae grow on them. Eggs and juveniles find protection there.
In the first image, a hermit crab prepares to move into a larger shell. In the second, a small fish shelters inside a shell in a tide pool.
The beach is a living system, and shells are part of its machinery.
Is removing shells from the beach considered cleaning?
In many cities, beach cleaning goes beyond removing human trash. Machines and crews sift the sand to make it look visually perfect, uniform, and free of natural elements. In the process, shells, remains of mussels, small pieces of driftwood, and even living organisms are removed and sent to landfills.
The result is a beach that looks beautiful, but is ecologically impoverished.
These shells, especially small ones such as those from mangrove mussels, when they reach the beach through natural processes, should remain there. They would be reused by other organisms, integrated into nutrient cycles, and help maintain the physical structure of the coastal environment. Once removed, they become nothing more than waste.
Sururu Project
In some situations, when mangrove mussels are harvested by traditional shellfish gatherers, the accumulation of shells in specific processing areas can become a problem. In response, the Sururu Project was created. Developed by Instituto Goiamum, the project provides a proper destination for discarded mangrove mussel shells, preventing waste buildup in mangroves and transforming this material into a regenerative resource.
In the images, records were made during a visit to the Sururu Project. In the first photo, one of the processing machines that turns mussel shells into an agricultural input.
The shells undergo research, processing, and laboratory analysis that have confirmed their potential as a natural soil amendment, rich in calcium carbonate, safe, and free of contaminants. What was once waste becomes applied science, income, and environmental regeneration, strengthening Espírito Santo’s blue economy.
It is essential, however, to make a clear distinction. The Sururu Project addresses a localized issue related to waste generated after harvesting by traditional communities. This does not mean that mangrove mussel shells that naturally wash up on beaches should be collected.
These shells are part of the ecological functioning of coastal environments and must remain where they are, fulfilling their role as shelter, substrate, and mineral source for the ecosystem.
A small effect that adds up
It is true that removing a single shell does not cause immediate collapse. But conservation is rarely lost through one large action. It erodes through the accumulation of many small, continuous losses.
Millions of people collecting shells over the years reduce available shelter, disrupt the calcium carbonate cycle, increase beach vulnerability to erosion, and impoverish local biodiversity. The impact is silent, progressive, and real.
What science and the law say
Coastal systems specialists are clear that shells have an ecological function. In Brazil, institutions such as ICMBio and the Ministry of the Environment advise against removing shells, corals, and other natural elements from coastal environments. The recommendation is simple: take only memories and photographs.
The buying, selling, and commercial trade of shells, corals, and starfish is considered an environmental crime, subject to fines and even detention. Even where more permissive interpretations exist regarding the occasional collection of empty shells by tourists, technical consensus is that large-scale removal causes imbalance.
A personal memory
When I was a child, I remember finding a much greater diversity of shells on beaches. Large shells, different shapes, unique forms. Today, I have the feeling that they have become scarcer, especially the larger ones.
I do not have scientific data to confirm this, and it is likely related to multiple factors such as the climate crisis and imbalances caused by overexploitation of marine resources. Still, this is a personal perception, built over time while walking the same stretches of sand.
This feeling is often echoed in conversations with researchers and longtime coastal residents.
What actually helps the ocean
If the goal is to care for the beach, there is a simple and powerful action. Instead of collecting shells, collect trash and dispose of it properly. Cigarette butts, plastic, packaging, fishing lines.
It is also important to demand public policies that address pollution, industrial waste, and the environmental crisis we are facing. That truly makes a positive difference.
Leaving shells where they are is an act of respect for natural cycles. A quiet commitment to the animals that depend on them. A way to ensure that someone else, perhaps a child, can experience the same wonder of finding a shell for the first time and admiring it, reminding us once again that from the beach, we should take only good memories.
The beach does not need to be immaculate. It needs to be alive.
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Nature photographer and cinematographer, founder of Instituto Últimos Refúgios, Master’s degree holder in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development, and deeply passionate about the natural world. Join me on this inspiring journey of wildlife discoveries and experience the beautiful stories I live while constantly exploring nature.
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