It all started out nice enough. 
A Memorial Day outing to Half Moon Bay for some lunch, plenty of farm stands with early summer produce, and maybe some tidepooling at Princeton Beach. But that was all before my mood soured considerably on stumbling across this charming marine mortuary tucked away off Main street in downtown Half Moon Bay. Seascapes: Gifts of the Sea, calls itself A very special shop dedicated to everyone who loves the sea! Yeah. Everyone who loves the sea to death.Dead snail remains, dead bivalves, dead sea stars, dead urchins, dead coral (LOTS of dead coral), dead sea fans, dead sea whips. Dead. Dead. Dead. And if you don't see something that piques your dead decorating or craft needs, the proprietors appear eager to locate any special dead request.
Appalled? Me too. Feel free to let them know.
3 comments:
i see big Protoreaster stars, spider conches, tun snails, fig snails and other species nearly extirpated from Singapore's waters. Are there enforced rules governing the import and sale of these marine products in the US?
cites is the only body which outlines import and sale restrictions of marine species... sadly, we all got an idea of how cites is ultimately manipulated by commercial interests at the meeting just 3 months ago: http://coralnotesfromthefield.blogspot.com/2010/03/fu-ocean.html
Are those crown of thorn starfish?
Buying shells is right up there with buying autographs. The point of an autograph is that it is proof that you met someone; a shell is meant to be found already lying on the beach. What's the point of a memento if it does have a memory attached to it?
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