Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/24/mom-fined-88000-on-beach-trip-after-kids-collect-seashells-that-werent.html
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9 Likes
This does sound like an innocent, albeit unfortunate, mistake.
“Won’t be letting the kids gather clams again, got the tattoo to remind me”.
Just glad I never thought about getting a tattoo for every mistake I’ve ever made.
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The sign of a society in crisis is---- a family making an innocent mistake being charged more vis a vis their net worth than the corporations who destroyed the environment for the sea life in the first place
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“Crime is a social construct.”
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There’s probably a Flintstones joke to be made about “that’s a lot of clams!” as well.
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It’s not either-or. Those regulations are there for a reason and they have mandatory amounts so that officers can’t look the other way if they happen to know the poacher. For the most part, the people who get hit with these kinds of fines are knowingly destroying the resource out of pure greed.
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I have a tattoo of a monkey. It’s on my back. I got it when I was 6 months sober.
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I would hope there are signs on the beach telling people the penalties for taking clams and showing them what they look like.
Assuming this, in the end, $500 doesn’t sound like a completely unreasonable amount to be fined even for an honest mistake.
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Going all the way to the original article, there were. That said, it’s often difficult to cover every entrance to beach areas and signs wear quickly in a marine environment.
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Double the fine! Triple it!
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innocent mistake?
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A mistake they made by digging up and keeping 72 clams. Even as a kid I knew the difference between a whole clam and a shell. If it was simply a mistake, I hope more people know to not let their kids make this mistake 72 more times due to the publicity this gets.
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I have been shocked and horrified at the lack of knowledge kids raised in urban and suburban sprawl have of wildlife. We get tourists trying to pet moose, for fuck’s sake.
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Dear Dog, I’d be a good 90% covered in ink! 
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So many questions… as someone who pays for a fishing license to crab and clam… the mom should have told the kids: only the half clams can be collected. The empty shells. Those funny pretty smooth ‘rocks’ are actually living creatures and need to stay in their home environment. Just put that one back sweetie, k?
Or the wildlife authority: hey kids, I see you’ve got a pile of clams there… they sure are beautiful. say, did you know clams are amazing life forms! simple filter feeding bivalves that live here and it isn’t right to take them home without a permit. Sorry, now I’ll take those buckets and get them home safe and sound after I have a word with your mother… OK, bye, stay safe!
(walks to mother sound asleep under umbrella)
SCENARIO 1
(cough) Ma’am?
(COUGH)
Ma’am?
The mom startles awake: wha?
Ma’am I found your kids in hip waders and an array of tools for digging or prying clams off the rocks with the tide coming in. Your case isn’t helped by all the chopped garlic, shallots, parsley and white wine you’ve got going next to your fire pit and that huge kettle steaming away. Imma charge you, lessee, $1,222 per clam. There are 72, I counted them while I waited for you to wake up. $88,000 please.
SCENARIO 2
Ahh, howdy! excuse me ma’am but I found your kids playing with these clams, using them as checkers and wanted to let you know that harvesting without a license is actually kind of a crime, but you can fill out this card and pay $12 for a day use harvest pass (it’s half price for kids). Please use my pen or you can tap your card or phone here to, ah, thank you! Do you want to take the clams home and cook them? No? Great. I’ll get them back in the sand. Have a nice day
it seems like common sense has left our species entirely
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I would say the headline grabbing outrageous fine served its purpose. It got plenty of attention.
And all came out reasonably in the end. Because a reasonable judge had reasonable latitude to apply common sense to the particulars of the offense.
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