Is it Illegal to Take Seashells from Massachusetts Beaches?

Spending time on the beach can be incredibly relaxing, whether you're soaking up the sun, taking a dip in the ocean, playing volleyball, or taking a romantic stroll along the sand.

Get our free mobile app

Of course, there are fun beach activities for the kiddos as well, including making sand castles, rolling around in the sand, going in the ocean, burying mom and dad up to their heads in the sand, and collecting seashells.

Speaking of seashells, my wife has a huge glass container in our home filled with seashells. It's interesting to look at and makes for a fun talking piece. As I was looking at the jar the other day, I started wondering if it's ever illegal to take seashells from the beach to add to your collection. What about rocks, stones, or other items you may find on the beach? Is it illegal to take those items from the beach?

Is it Illegal to Take Seashells from Massachusetts Beaches?

If you're wondering if it's illegal to take seashells or other items from Massachusetts beaches, it depends on whether removing these articles causes damage, destruction, or injury to beach habitat. Here's the official Massachusetts law:

If it appears to the department that the digging or removal of stones, gravel, sand or other material, upon or from any beach, shore, bluff, headland, island or bar, in or bordering on tide waters, or the destruction of any trees, shrubs, grass or other vegetation growing thereon, is, or is likely to prove, injurious to any harbor or other navigable tide waters, the department may, by written notice, prohibit such digging or removal, or the doing of any acts injurious to such trees or other vegetation, upon or from any such beach or other place aforesaid specified in such notice. Whoever, after receiving such notice, wilfully does any act or thing prohibited therein, and which is authorized to be so prohibited by this section, or, being the owner or having the control of any land specified in such notice, wilfully suffers or permits such act or thing to be done thereon, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than two hundred dollars.

If you ignore these rules, you probably won't be arrested or sent to jail, but you will have to pay a fine if you get caught and may be removed from the beach.