Beach Etiquette: How to Respectfully Catch Some Rays

When many people visit the beach they don't acknowledge it for its significance and its wildlife but more for its comfort; it is visually pleasing and cooling to the overheated body during the summertime. Many fail to realize how important the ocean and its wildlife are to our very being. The need to protect the ocean and its wildlife is constantly overlooked. We must realize that we are guests at the beach and that it is our duty to respect it and to ensure that its wildlife does not become harmed by our actions. Below I share some ways to enjoy the beach in a respectful manner.

1. Don't feed the seagulls. Seagulls are notorious for silently watching those who bring food on to the beach. They are almost always hungry and will eat most of anything that people feed them. The problem with feeding the seagulls is that they become less intimidated by humans and they gain a certain dependency on humans to feed them. This can be a problem for people who come to eat lunch on the beach as the seagulls may become hostile towards them and attack them for their food. Seagulls can cause great injury to humans and small animals with their sharp bills. According to Environmental graffiti in 2001, a woman was rushed to hospital with deep beak wounds to her head and a pet dog was pecked to death in southwest England. A year later, an 80-year-old Anglesey man suffered a fatal heart attack after being mobbed by the birds.

2. Place your food and all wrappers in a trash bag or cooler and take the trash with you. Food and wrappers that are left on the beach will eventually make their way into the water which will then cause a dangerous and potentially deadly situation for both the seagulls and ocean wildlife.

3. Do not smoke on beach. It is rare that people do smoke on the beach but it should be avoided because little birds will think that the cigarette butts are food and feed them to their young. These butts can severely damage the birds' internal systems which can lead to shortened life.

4. Keep your dogs off of beach. You may want your dog to enjoy the ocean breeze but your dog can harm the beach environment. Dogs can disturb bird nests, dig up wildlife nestled in the sand, and their urine and feces contain bacteria that can harm both people and ocean wildlife. It's best if you keep your dogs off of the beach.

5. Avoid leaving glass bottles, plastic bottles, tin cans, paper cups, plastic cups, and plastic rings on the beach. All of these items can reach the ocean and harm the wildlife there.

6. Avoid leaving packaging from products on the beach. If you purchase new sun umbrellas, flotation devices, disposable cameras etc and decide to open them on the beach, do not leave the packaging on the beach. Take all of the package wrappings with you and dispose of them in a trash can.

7. Avoid leaving broken items on the beach such as beach chairs, Frisbees, kites, plastic play shovels and buckets. You should take these items back with you and dispose of them in a trash can. If you leave them on the beach they will remain there until they get washed into the ocean. Once they get washed into the ocean they become hazard for the wildlife there.

8. Do not take home live ocean wildlife such as crabs, jelly fish, turtles, and fish. You should never uproot ocean wildlife from its home. Wildlife's presence is vital to their habitat. Do not pull up plants on the beach or take home seaweed. Many creatures build their homes in plants and seaweed.

9. Do not throw rocks at the seagulls. Remember that the beach is their home and you are a guest. Some seagulls might also have nests nearby. You do not want to necessarily cause a severe fear in seagulls of humans. They might start to react viciously to the human presence.