Starfish Hunting on Bonita Beach | 186/365 Things to Do

Aiden with Bonita Beach StarfishIt’s not exactly hunting … it’s searching and often times saving them.  We do have a time of the year when there are more starfish around on Bonita Beach and even Barefoot Beach. We found this starfish by Dog Beach. The kids were able to find tons of them this day. We do not keep any of them, of course. It is illegal to remove live shellfish/shells from the beach.

You can find starfish all along the beaches in the summer. They are typically around in great quantities between the end of August through Mid October. If you see them and tide has gone out you can help by tossing them back in. 

If you’ve not heard the parable of the starfish:

One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.

The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”