Collecting seashells may seem harmless; but it can create an environmental calamity. Since 1998, Costa Rica’s Wildlife Preservation Law has forbidden collecting seashells because of how it hurts the delicate, biodiverse ecosystem. Dr. Yolanda Camacho, biologist at the University of Costa Rica notes that removing seashells can accelerate erosion, making beaches more vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels; it can reduce the availability of homes for sea creatures; and it can damage marine habitats: shells play a key role in the formation of calcareous structures, which are essential for organisms such as corals.
Finally, shells create an alkaline balance to counter the growing amounts of acidic carbon dioxide (CO2) that the ocean must absorb as a result of human activity. An acidic ocean has fewer essential nutrients and prevents marine organisms from reproducing or forming calcium carbonate skeletons and shells.
In 2023, more than five tons of shells were seized at the Juan SantamarĂa and Daniel Oduber airports. But since it was impossible to determine whether travelers had collected the shells in the Pacific or the Caribbean, they were usually just stored or buried. Now a new AI tool is helping them go “back home.”
The new app uses artificial intelligence to identify in seconds whether a shell belongs to the Pacific or the Caribbean, with an accuracy of over 90%. More than 200 volunteers helped create a database of 18,500 shell images which has made it possible to classify 36,000 shells in record time. The app was developed by Costa Rican food, beverage and hospitality company FIFCO and its Imperial brand, in alliance with the Ministry of Environment and Energy through the National System of Conservation Areas (MINAE-SINAC), AERIS, manager of the Juan Santamaria International Airport, and the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
With the new app, in a single day, all shells seized over the course of a year were returned to the sea, restoring their role in the marine ecosystems of the Pacific and Caribbean. This achievement not only emptied the containers at the airports but marked the beginning of a profound change in the way this environmental problem is addressed. A new documentary De Vuelta a Casa–Back Home–tells the story of their return .
“At FIFCO we firmly believe that sustainability is a shared responsibility. “De Vuelta a Casa” reflects our commitment to expansive sustainability, to lead with purpose, bringing together science, technology and collaboration to give back to nature what belongs to it. This project is a call to act together, to protect what makes us unique as a country and to ensure that future generations can enjoy a sustainable and healthy marine ecosystem,” said Maria Pia Robles, FIFCO’s Director of Corporate Relations.
The documentary points out that shells are not tourist souvenirs, but key pieces of the ecological gear that sustains marine life and the well-being of coastal communities.
“We call for wildlife to be enjoyed in their natural habitats and not to extract shells from our coasts,” said Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy. “Each species plays a fundamental role in the ecosystem of which it is a part and contributes to the maintenance of ecological processes that ensure the quality of life and well-being of present and future generations.”
