Empty seashells
Empty seashells are legal to collect for personal use. Before you pocket one, check that nothing's living inside (a hermit crab or a mollusk) - if it's occupied, leave it.
Foraging / The beach
Shells, shark teeth & sea beans.
Texas has 367 miles of public Gulf beach, and beachcombing here is a joy - especially in winter. What you can take depends on the item - and on whether you're on an open beach or in a national seashore.
What you can take
Live shells need a license
Live shells are different. To take a living shellfish (like a live lightning whelk - the state shell), you need a fishing license with a saltwater endorsement, and there are daily limits (no more than 15 live snails, and no more than 2 lightning whelks). When in doubt, take only empties.
At Padre Island National Seashore
At Padre Island National Seashore, you may keep up to a 1-gallon container of empty shells and sea beans per person; commercial collecting is banned.
Sand dollars & starfish
Don't take live sand dollars or starfish. A live sand dollar is dark and fuzzy; a dead one is the bleached white 'skeleton' - that one's fine.
Sea turtles are protected
Sea turtles and their eggs are federally protected - never touch or disturb them (see the Wildlife hub).
Free on open beaches
On open Gulf beaches, shark teeth, sea beans (drift seeds that float in from the tropics), driftwood, sea glass, and the treasures tangled in sargassum seaweed are generally yours to take. The best hunting is right after a winter 'norther' at low tide, when waves push deep-water finds onto the sand.
Padre Island catch: One catch: at Padre Island National Seashore, only empty shells and sea beans may be collected - not shark teeth, driftwood, or sea glass. The park's rules are stricter than open beaches.
Dunes: Leave the dunes alone - don't dig sand from or trample protected dunes.
Keep going
Official sources
Open Gulf beaches are managed by the Texas General Land Office; Padre Island National Seashore by the NPS (with stricter rules); live-shell licensing by TPWD.
- Data vintage:
- Beachcombing rules as reviewed June 2026
- Last reviewed:
- June 15, 2026
- Texas General Land Office - Beaches - The Open Beaches Act
- NPS - Padre Island beachcombing
- TPWD - Shellfish & other aquatic life
Caution: Rules differ between open beaches and national parks, and live-shell limits change. Check the rules for the specific beach, and never take a live animal without the right license.
Spot something that needs a Texas check?
This first pass is built to be polished over time. Send the page name, county, parcel context if relevant, and the official source you are looking at.
Email Texas Porch.