People around the world enjoy going on vacation at the beach. There are many things that you might appreciate doing when you are at the ocean, including spending some time in the sand looking for seashells.
Most people would never give searching for sea shells a second thought, but there are reasons why you may want to consider the possible implications. In order to learn more about this, you would only have to ask a mother from California who paid a large price for taking her kids for an outing.
The mother, Charlotte Russ, took her kids to the beach and knew that they would be able to find shells. The beach itself is known for having a large clam population, and the children were busily gathering them, collecting 72 by the end of the day.
When they took the claims to their mother’s truck, it caused a lot of problems and the mother was in a lot of trouble. She had no idea that there were laws associated with collecting clams on the beach, and she received a fine of $88,000 for that day’s outing.
One issue was the fact that they didn’t have a fishing license but that was also the types of claims they collected. Claims that have not grown properly are not allowed to be collected, even if you have a proper licensing.
Lieut. Matthew Gill went on record for the Department of Fish and Wildlife to let everyone know why it was illegal, even if it wasn’t done maliciously. What is the big deal with collecting a small clam?
“The reason we got it we have these regulations is because we have to let them get to 4 and a half inches,” Gil explained, “So they can have they can have offspring every year.”
“They had juvenile clams.”
As far as the enjoyment of the family outing, Charlotte said that the $88,000 ticket did certainly cast a dark spell over the day. She said that it made her feel really sad and depressed and it ‘kind of ruined our trip.’
She also said that her family learned a lesson that day. She said: ”
They know now at the beach don’t touch anything, but they know now what a clam is, compared to what a seashell is now, I’ve had to explain that to them.”
The good news is that she had her day in court and her $88,000 fine was reduced to $500.