One California mom's beach trip ended with a stiff fine. The mother and her children went hunting for seashells on the beach, but they ended up with a $88,000 fine. Collecting seashells is a popular pastime for many beach-goers. It's also relatively harmless, so what gives? Well, it turns out that the kids had mistakenly collected clams, not seashells.
As such, the family got a ticket for fishing on the beach without a fishing license. Charlotte Russ and her family went to Pismo Beach on a vacation. In case you didn't know, locals call Pismo Beach the Clam Capital of the World. Well, on their seashell hunt, Russ's children ended up collecting 72 clams.
While they were collecting the clams, a Department of Fish and Wildlife agent approached Russ. They said that her kids were collecting clams illegally. As such, they gave her a stiff fine. "Right before we went, that's when I opened it and that's when I saw the amount," Russ said. Upon getting home, she got a fine for her to pay $88,993.
Seashell Hunt Ends Badly
"It made me really sad and depressed, and it kind of ruined our trip," Russ told the outlet. Fortunately, there was a silver lining. A San Luis Obispo County judge reduced her fine to $500. However, the California mom said it was a learning experience. They'll think twice next time they go seashell hunting. "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," she said.
Ultimately, she went and got a shellfish tattooed on her arm. This seashell will be a permanent reminder of the trip. "It was definitely one expensive trip to Pismo, unforgettable," Russ said.
The California mom is far from the only one who got in trouble. In 2023, San Luis Obispo County wrote 58 citations over illegal clam collection. Clammers are limited to just 10 clams a day to protect the population. "The reason we got it, we have these regulations is because we have to let them get to 4½ inches so they can spawn so they can have offspring every year, and they have juvenile clams," Lt. Matthew Gil told the outlet.
Previously, clams faced several factors that threatened its population, but overclamming proved to be a major issue. Regulations helped to increase the population of clams and prevent them from being endangered.
