- The snail campaign seeks to curb shell collection on tourist beaches.
- Around 10.000 tons are removed each year; beach visits have increased 2,7-fold.
- Shells stabilize the sand, help maintain pH, and provide shelter for numerous species.
- Measures: environmental education, signage, less mechanical cleaning, and responsible tourism.
On the busiest coasts, various entities have activated a snail campaign to discourage the collection of shells and snails as beach souvenirs. The initiative focuses on a gesture that seems harmless but, accumulated by millions of views, has become environmentally relevant.
The data handled by experts are eloquent: each year around 1000 hectares are withdrawn from the shores. 10.000 tons of seashells, a volume that particularly affects tourist areas in the Mediterranean. The campaign's objective is simple: leave the shells where they fulfill their ecological function and promote small patterns of coexistence with the environment.
A snail campaign that limits collection
The proposal presents clear messages on beaches, networks, and accommodations so that every visitor understands why it is best not to take anything from the coast. Its key points include: direct information to the bather, coordination with city councils and review of cleaning practices that may damage the substrate.
El investigador Michal Kowalewski, from the University of Florida, emphasizes that we still have time to adjust habits and reduce our footprint without giving up the enjoyment of the sea. The campaign adopts this approach: educating, providing alternatives, and highlighting what often goes unnoticed.
What science says about shell removal
In recent decades, visits to the coast have become multiplied by 2,7 While physical conditions (waves, weather, seabed dynamics) have remained relatively stable, biological indicators linked to snails—such as size, diversity, and predation marks—have barely changed, which points to one main cause: human pressure on biogenic material that reaches the shore.
Studies link that pressure to various activities with a strong presence in tourist areas, between them:
- Accelerated urbanization and artificialization of the coastal front
- Increase in recreational boat traffic
- Use of heavy machinery for beach cleaning, which can spray shells and conches
- Direct collection by tourists and visitors
Shells are not just decorations
What for many is a beautiful souvenir is, in reality, part of a natural mechanism. Shells and snails act as key pieces of ecological balance coastal, with physical, chemical and biological effects.
- They help stabilize the sand and cushion erosion
- They contribute to regulating the pH of water thanks to calcium carbonate
- They recycle essential minerals—such as calcium—that nourish marine life
- They provide shelter and microhabitat for algae, seagrasses, invertebrates and hermit crabs.
- They serve as nesting material and for sharpening beaks in some coastal birds.
When shells are missing, the physical, chemical and biological balance of the beach, reducing its resilience and impoverishing local biodiversity.
What the campaign proposes and how to join
The most effective tool is the environmental education applied to everyday life on the beach. Clear signs, concise guides, and messages at beach bars and accommodations help change habits without friction.
- Explain the ecological value of shells with simple examples
- Discourage its extraction as a tourist souvenir
- Promote environmentally friendly behaviors
- Incorporate environmental content into signage, local campaigns, and visitor guides
- Adjust beach cleaning to avoid machinery that crushes shells and prioritize less aggressive methods
As Kowalewski sums up, it is possible to enjoy the coast and at the same time minimize impact if we understand the function of each element and act accordingly.
Responsible tourism: simple gestures with great effect
Next time you walk along the shore, remember that every shell has a mission. Leaving it where it is is a small gesture with big effects about the health of the beach and the life it supports.
Taking care of the shells—not taking them away and preventing them from being destroyed—means investing in more resilient, biodiverse and stable beaches, a goal shared by bathers, residents and administrations that this campaign aims to turn into a custom.