Mom Fined $88,000 After Her Kids Pick Up ‘Seashells’ On Beach

One mom’s family trip out turned into a nightmare as she was fined $88,000 for her kids’ ‘seashell’ collection.

Charlotte Russ had planned a day trip for her and her children to Pismo Beach in California.

While visiting the beach, her children decided to start collecting seashells.

Little did they know this would cause them a lot of trouble.

Charlotte Russ and her family visited Pismo Beach Credit: ABC 7

They had collected a total of 72 shells and had put them in their truck, all ready to go home after a fun family day.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife confronted the mother of five, about the shells and issued her a ticket.

Before leaving the beach Russ opened the fine she was handed to discover she had been given a ticket for a whopping $88,000.

Russ spoke to ABC 7, saying: “It made me really sad and depressed, and it kind of ruined our trip.”

Charlotte Russ was unaware that it was illegal for her children to collect the shells. Credit: ABC 7

Pismo Beach is the home to the Pismo Clam. It is one of the largest types of clams found along the California Coast, with the clams growing up to seven inches.

It turns out the kids had made a huge mistake in collecting the seashells.

They were clams, and it is illegal to collect clams without a valid sport fishing license.

Russ was unaware of this law and against state regulations.

The kids collected a total of 72 clams. Credit: ABC 7

Not only did they not have a fishing license, but the type of clams they collected was a problem too, as juvenile clams are not to be collected even if you have the proper permit.

The family has learned their lesson when it comes to collecting things on the beach.

She went on to say: “They 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,”

Luckily for the mother a San Luis Obispo County judge knocked her fine down to $500 after the clam mistake.

Russ can now joke about the situation and even got a shellfish tattooed on her arm to remember the situation after she “won” her case. She said “It was definitely one expensive trip to Pismo, unforgettable,”

Charlotte Russ got a shell tattoo to remember the incident. Credit-ABC 7

In 2023 58 citations were handed out to people for illegally collecting clams by San Luis Obispo County.

Lieutenant Matthew Gil spoke with ABC 7 on behalf of the Department of Fish and Wildlife saying: “The reason we got it, we have these regulations is because we have to let them get to 4½ inches so they can spawn so they can have offspring every year, and they have juvenile clams,”

Russ did say that she saw signs at the beach warning people not to collect clams without a permit but wished that there were more as her kids did not see them while having fun on the beach.

Charlotte Russ says there should be more signs at Pismo Beach to stop people from making the same mistake her kids did. Credit: ABC 7

Russ has stressed to other visitors at the Pismo (also known as ‘The Clam Capital’) to be aware of the regulations in hopes that no one will get fined again.