The big blue ocean is a beautiful place filled with colorful fishes, corals, and other natural sea treasures. I have always loved the sea and with the years I have started to think in ways of what I can do to protect it from getting damaged. 

This article is a good start for me to help others getting more conscious about the environment and the damage of buying the wrong souvenirs abroad. 

You should never buy souvenirs that come from the wildlife, never. When purchasing one of these bad souvenirs, you and all fellow tourists create a demand that leads to more picking of the marine treasures. Almost all travelers want to take home unique souvenirs that remind them of their journey, but how should they know what to buy or not?

In this article, I will give you three examples of souvenirs that are endangered and shouldn’t be purchased on your trip.

 If you Love the Ocean – Here are 3 Souvenirs You Never Should Buy!

1. Corals

Yes, some might think that the red corals make beautiful jewelry, but in my opinion, they look even prettier down in the sea. When you wear and buy red coral jewelry, you also create a demand for it. Our Ocean’s reefs are in danger, and the theft of the corals are a big issue. If we want our oceans to stay as beautiful as they are, the sale of corals must come to an end. In addition to that, the coral preservation also helps the earth’s ecosystem. 

Stop buying corals, inform your friends and loved ones and help save our ecosystem from damage!

red coral

2. Marine Turtle Shells

The overharvesting and illegal trade have caused the oceans turtles to decrease in population. Turtle shells are sold at several tourist shops worldwide. The demand for this ”souvenir” is today a big threat to the survival of the marine turtles. 

People might think that the turtle shells they see in tourist shops are from a turtle that has lived a long pleasant life with a natural death. But that’s not foremost the case. They catch the poor turtles and then kill them, that’s how it goes.

Sea Turtle

Photo: Shutterstock.

3. Nautilus Shells

Nautilus Shells are like ”living fossils” which has lived in our ocean since ancient time. Due to climate change and over-fishing, these animals have declined increasingly in population. 

Nautilus Shells

This does apply to ALL ocean souvenirs that are sold around the world.

So, if you so badly want to have a memory from the ocean life to bring with you home, then I would suggest you go scuba diving instead. I promise you, you will have amazing memories to share with your friends and loved ones!