A pearl of advice: don’t go picking huge amounts of random “seashells” on Californian beaches, as you may actually need a fishing license. A family learned this the hard way when their children collected 72 clams. The expensive lesson cost an eye-watering $88,000 fine.
Charlotte Russ and her family traveled to Pismo Beach from Fresno, California, USA, last year, where her kids, unbeknownst to them, broke clamming regulations.
The mom told Abc7 on Thursday (May 23): “My kids they thought they were collecting seashells, but they were actually collecting clams, 72 to be exact.”
Charlotte continued: “Right before we went, that’s when I opened it and that’s when I saw the amount.”
Children who collected 72 clams resulted in parents being fined with an eye-watering $88,000
The stunned mother ended up receiving a ticket on the spot and later received a notice she would have to pay just over $88,000, Abc7 reported.
She told the American broadcaster: “It made me really sad and depressed, and it kind of ruined our trip.”
Lieutenant Matthew Gil, who works at the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the rules are in place to protect the species of the shellfish.
Charlotte Russ and her family traveled to Pismo Beach, California, USA, where her kids, unbeknownst to them, broke clamming regulations
He told Abc7: “The reason […] we have these regulations is because we have to let them get to four-and-a-half inches so they can spawn, so they can have offspring every year, and they have juvenile clams.”
Matthew added it was important to educate yourself and your children before going ashore, saying: “If you have a dead sand dollar, a dead animal, or something like that, or you have a broken seashell, that’s fine.
“Pismo clams — what you’re going to see is both shells will be intact together.” If you can’t take them apart very easily, it’s a clam.
“My kids they thought they were collecting seashells, but they were actually collecting clams, 72 to be exact,” the mom explained
Charlotte said: “[My children] 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 Russes saw a small silver lining to this whole mess, as after explaining the clam confusion to a San Luis Obispo County judge, Charlotte reportedly got her fine reduced to $500.
The mom concluded the shell of a trip by immortalizing the incident with a humorous tattoo of a shellfish with the number 72 on her wrist.
“So I got this after I ‘won’ my case, in Pismo,” Charlotte quipped.
She added: “It was definitely one expensive trip to Pismo, unforgettable.”
The stunned mother ended up receiving a ticket on the spot and later received a notice she would have to pay just over $88,000
Image credits: ABC30 Action News
Last year, there were 58 citations issued for this problem in San Luis Obispo, Abc7 reported.
Charlotte reportedly mentioned that there were signs posted at the location, but she wished there had been more. Her family, eager to have fun, didn’t notice the existing signs.
“That’s some petty shellfish behavior,” a reader joked
