The largest sea glass shard in the world?

It originates from the Northeast of England where a Victorian glass factory once operated. At over 6" in diameter and weighing over 5 pounds this could be the largest sea glass specimen ever found. Read more about this leviathan by clicking Largest Sea Glass Ever Found.

The Latest NASGA Newsletter Has Been Posted

The Winter 2012 newsletter from the North American Sea Glass Association has been posted. The newsletter includes articles on sea glass collecting as well as a photo recap of the 2011 Sea Glass Festival in Long Branch, NJ.
To view all the NASGA newsletters visit Shore Lines Newsletters.

Step away from the sea glass... if you can!

An interesting phenomenon in the sea glass collecting world is the takeover by the National Park Service of coastal locations that were once town dumps. These areas provide some of the best sea glass collecting as they offer copious amounts in a myriad of colors and shapes to hunters who are willing to trek the many miles for the enjoyment of collecting.

Once the National Park Service takes over an area the collector is no longer allowed to keep the sea glass they find. Visitors are told that the sea glass, once trash, is now "a natural resource" and belongs to everybody. This just oozes with irony, doesn't it?

I understand from the Park's point of view the desire to retain the sea glass as it increases tourism to an area ( i.e. $$$ ). If people are allowed to keep the naturally tumbled gems eventually there will be nothing left and the tourists will disappear.

It will be interesting to see if collectors will still be willing to spend the time and money to travel to these locations if they can't keep the sea glass they find. It may be that the Naional Park Service's position is in a Catch 22.

Two National Park locations that I have visited are Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, Ca and Spectacle Island, Boston, MA. Click on the hyperlinks to see more about these areas.