Here’s Why You Should Stop Taking Pebbles From the Beach - Scientists Warn
Collecting pebbles is an experience that sends many people roving in childhood nostalgia. These chunky baubles splattered on the seashore collect light of the Sun and reflect iridescent hues like ruby red, sapphire blue, charcoal grey, or golden yellow. For rockhounds and lapidaries, these pellucid stones are precious masterpieces of nature, carved by dancing waves that crack the seaside rocks as they rise and fall. But, a new law brings bad news for avid pebble-spotters. The Cumberland Council in the North West of England has prohibited people from taking away pebbles and shells from the beach or they could be fined up to £1000 for pilfering the rule.
Previously, many legal authorities have attempted to ban pebble collectors. For instance, the Coast Protection Act of 1949 states that people are not allowed to slip away natural materials like sand, shells, and pebbles from the beach. But this time, British law has issued a serious warning on the matter. Not that pillaging the beach for a handful of pebbles is a big deal, but according to scientists, it matters a lot for nature. Pebbles play a crucial role in balancing erosion cycles on the sandy shorelines.
“Sand and pebbles provide an important habitat for many creatures. It also provides natural protection for homes and infrastructure from the power of the sea,” Joseph Earl from Lancaster University and Suzana Ilic, coastal advisor, explained in The Conversation. The authors elaborate that the volume of the beach is critical to determining how pebbles impact its environment. The more pebbles and sediment are there on the beach, the more able the beach is to absorb wave energy. They act as natural barriers against flooding and erosion. This volume changes gradually over the years.
While one person taking away a few pebbles might not impact the beach in a significant way, too many people collecting too many pebbles together makes a huge difference. “Removing pebbles can disturb the beach’s natural sorting processes and interrupt its overall dynamic balance,” Earl and Ilic explained. The goal is sediment retention and erosion protection. Especially during dire times when climate change's effects are evident, we cannot risk losing the sediments on beaches and ultimately, disrupting the natural coastlines and the habitats that thrive in them.
On Reddit, where u/EssexGuyUpNorth started a discussion on this topic, hundreds of people jumped in to share the pebble-collecting laws in their area. u/dudeondacouch said that the authorities are “super serious about this in the Galápagos Islands. Like airport security will 100% detain you for a seashell.” Talking about the Cook Islands, u/edgycliff revealed that “the only way you can take shells or coral from the beach is to have them inspected and cleared with a minister of fisheries, and have documentation to show airport security.” u/thejustinset said, “In Hawaii, they scan your luggage to make sure you aren’t taking rocks, shells etc back.”
For children and rock enthusiasts, this law might be received with some reluctance however, unless the beach is preserved, the pebbles will cease to exist altogether. “It is great to play with pebbles and shells responsibly on the beach but they should be left in the environment where they belong,” Ilic told BBC Newsround.