WHAT IS THE POINT? by "Fed Up"

[coombs]

Also Ancestry trees has limited space for Notes to be added, so if people expect other users to cite every source for the info they have found (especially pre census and BMD era) then they will have another thing coming. I do add sources or notes but not the whole amount of sources. And they can always find out for themselves if they are also into FH.

[Rena]

"it's a hobby to be enjoyed"

Exactly.  And there are different ways to enjoy it.  I also collect sea shells.  Some shell collectors buy spectacular specimens of spectacular species.  Their shells are sort of like natural works of art and they take pleasure in them for that reason.  There's nothing wrong with that but it isn't what I do.  I never buy specimens because I enjoy finding them for myself and I specifically seek out the small, the insignificant and even the ugly species.  That's okay too.

My pals and I also used to take home jam jars containing sea shells that we'd collected from the beach during summer holidays.

That stopped in 1949 due to it being made illegal in the UK:-

"...Under the Coastal Protection Act 1949, it is actually illegal to take any kind of natural materials from public beaches and could see you fined up to £1,000 if you are caught...."

[Erato]

I can see banning collecting in national parks and the like but a nationwide blanket ban seems a little harsh.  I've collected  ~1000 species in Ecuador and if I crushed up the whole damn lot, they wouldn't come close to filling a bushel basket.

[Treetotal]

I guess all the visitors to Charmouth beach on the Jurassic Coast haven't heard of that law. The Museum encourages people to search for fossils and have them analysed for their records. The museum of dinosaur bones and some reconstructed dinosaur skeletons are really amazing. You can hire a bucket with the necessary tools to help in your search by chipping away on likely boulders.We have been there many times whilst caravaning there and it's great. Not that we have found anything historical, but interesting pieces of mosaic pottery and coloured glass.
Carol

[Gadget]

I read it as primarily to prevent coastal erosion, etc.by removing large quantities of sand/rocks, rather than the odd sea shell/flotsam and jetsam.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/74

An Act to amend the law relating to the protection of the coast of Great Britain against erosion and encroachment by the sea; to provide for the restriction and removal of works detrimental to navigation; to transfer the management of Crown foreshore from the Minister of Transport to the Commissioners of Crown Lands; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

 

PS. When we lived by the coast in Scotland, I used to collect all the wood debris for use in sculptures.

[Mike in Cumbria]

I read it as primarily to prevent coastal erosion, etc.by removing large quantities of sand/rocks, rather than the odd sea shell/flotsam and jetsam.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/74

An Act to amend the law relating to the protection of the coast of Great Britain against erosion and encroachment by the sea; to provide for the restriction and removal of works detrimental to navigation; to transfer the management of Crown foreshore from the Minister of Transport to the Commissioners of Crown Lands; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

74 years of not picking up shells because of misunderstanding this law - priceless!

[Treetotal]

The Beach Police better not come to my house, the Grandkids have had so much pleasure painting  shells and pebbles picked from various beaches.
Carol

[Gadget]

 ...and all those beach clean ups over the years   

[Rena]

I read it as primarily to prevent coastal erosion, etc.by removing large quantities of sand/rocks, rather than the odd sea shell/flotsam and jetsam.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/74

An Act to amend the law relating to the protection of the coast of Great Britain against erosion and encroachment by the sea; to provide for the restriction and removal of works detrimental to navigation; to transfer the management of Crown foreshore from the Minister of Transport to the Commissioners of Crown Lands; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

74 years of not picking up shells because of misunderstanding this law - priceless!

 

I had better things to do

Once you've made your sea shell necklace there's not much  point collecting more shells.