Tag Archives: hermit crabs with beach trash homes

I found a MTS4N seashell on Okinawa. What should I do?

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So far, I have placed over seven hundred marked turbo seashells in the coastal forest for hermit crabs in need. The shells are marked and numbered with the hashtag #mts4n ( Make The Switch For Nature ). Hopefully, labeling the surface of the seashells will prevent poachers, beachcombers, and anglers from taking them.

Hermit crabs are a national living monument species of Japan. Collecting them is against the law. Take photos only!

What to do if you find a #MTS4N or #MILLER shell:

  • Take a photograph of the Hermit crab in its natural habitat
  • Enjoy the moment and do not harass it
  • Share on social media and tag #mts4n
  • These occupied shells are not collectibles; do not take them

The Mission of the Make the Switch 4 Nature (MTS4N) Hermit Crab Conservation project is to spread joy, inspire change, and save lives

What to do if you find a hermit crab adapting with plastic

  • Take a photograph of the hermit crab in its original habitat
  • Leave the hermit crab alone and do not harass it
  • Send me a DM with the exact beach location
  • I will place empty shells in the coastal forest for the hermit crabs
Hermit crabs living in our trash

Have you ever taken an empty seashell from the beach? I am guilty. Most people don’t realize that they are taking the potential home of a hermit crab.

Did you know that hermit crabs are not born with shells?
As hermit crabs grow, they depend on various empty shells as their homes. Hermit crabs do not make their own shells; instead, they use discarded shells from marine snails that wash ashore. They also adapt by using land snail shells found in the coastal forest. If you are a shell collector, please return all unwanted shells to the coastline. #taketrashnothomes

It’s crucial to protect these beautiful creatures for future generations. Hermit crabs play an essential role in the coastal ecosystem. Hermit crabs do not belong in cages; please leave them in their natural habitat.

2024 has been a busy year for hermit crab poaching. In April and May, we found many traps in the coastal forest. If you see any suspicious activity, please call the local police.

Hermit crabs do not belong in a cage. Let’s keep wild crabs wild.


Please help me make a difference by supporting the #MST4N Hermit Crab Conservation Project. Please check out my Patreon page, MakeTheSwitch4Nature. I will collect a bucket full of marine debris for every supporting member. Our waste is a massive problem on our beautiful shorelines.

Do you have any seashells collecting dust at home? If so, consider giving them back to nature. #taktrashnothomes

  • The Mission of the #MTS4N conservation project is to spread joy, inspire change, and save lives.

Click on the donation link below to help fund Shawn’s conservation projects.

Interview On the Kelly Clarkson Show
Making the switch 4 nature
Featured On AFN Okinawa


Bottle Cap Challenge – No Kicking Just Picking!

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The bottle cap challenge is a viral trend started by martial artist Farabi Davletchin. He was the first person to perform a precision spin kick and twist off the cap of the bottle using his foot.  In 2017, I started a my own bottle cap challenge. The goal was to see how many twist top caps I could collect in fifteen minutes. Its an exciting challenge and I recommend getting others involved. Make it a friendly competition and document your beach trash finds using the Clean Swell app by Ocean Conservancy.

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Over the years, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of marine debris washed ashore. The trash is from all over the world, but majority of it washes up from Korea, China and Japan

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Next time your at the beach, take a minute and look around at the amout of single use waste on the beach. How do you feel when you see this waste?

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Majority of the plastic bottles/caps that wash ashore become brittle and break down into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces (micro plastics) are harder to find and clean up.

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Eventually these smaller pieces make it back into the ocean affecting the wildlife. Marine birds often mistaken and eat this plastic because it looks and smells like their natural diet (ex: fish eggs, crabs and small fish).

IMG_9105Even the marine fish will sometimes eat the plastic, they are attracted by the smell as well.
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Hermit crabs are one of the few animals that can successfully adapt with our waste. They  eventually move into this valuable real estate (plastic caps) and use it as a protective mobile home until they find a better option. Below are photographs of hermit crabs found naturally adapting with plastic twist caps.

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This popular hermit crab was featured in honor of World Oceans Day 2019 on Stella McCartney’s website. Thank you all for bringing awareness to the plastic pollution problem.

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If you would like to learn more about hermit crabs adapting with our waste please check out my post on “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes” by Shawn M Miller.

My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support.  Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Featured Artist | Darell Oike

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Last week, I received a positive message from Artist Darell Oike. It stated, your photographs of hermit crabs say a lot about the state of the oceans.  The interface between the natural and the artificial is a theme that I address in my sculptural work.  I’ve attached images of recent works that were inspired by your photographs.

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© Darell Oike

  Detritus

New works by Darrell Oike
The artificial and the natural have an ambiguous but inevitable relationship in the present and into the future. The artificial is the result of humankind’s ingenuity and ability to transform the natural. At what point does retransformation occur? When does litter become artifact? Is humanity destroying nature or simply participating in its perpetual cycles of change and transmutation? These are questions asked by Darrell Oike in his recent works.
Responding to his recent months long residency in a large city (Montreal) after having lived for most of his life in Haida Gwaii, a small northern archipelago in British Columbia, Darrell creates scenes where the man made and the natural interface; a pickerel eating snails off of a high heel, a catfish taking up residence in a Chanel bag, a dove deceased on a sidewalk. Evocative and foreboding, these new works in cold cast bronze and dry stone plaster are a change in course for the artist who for the past 20 years has been practicing in ceramics.
Urban environments seemingly leave little space for nature to thrive. There is little doubt that we affect change upon the natural environment and as a species our influence and impact on the planet is forceful and obvious but the relationships can be subtle. Hermit crabs have been documented, notably by photographer Shawn Miller, using plastic caps and containers instead of shells for protection. The house mouse, originally a wild species, now mainly inhabits buildings. From bacteria to whales, we share the planet with a myriad of organisms. The processes of evolution and extinction have existed since the amoeba. How do we move through time in a symbiosis with our biological neighbours? And what will be our legacy?

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© Darell Oike

Darrell Oike has been working in ceramics from his studio in Tlell (which is a small community on the islands of Haida Gwaii on the north coast of British Columbia) for the past 20 years. With a tendency to explore subject matter and themes close at hand, he takes advantage of the endless natural beauty surrounding him. He has had several solo and group exhibitions of his ceramics in Haida Gwaii and Vancouver and sometimes teaches on the islands.
Seeking change and new stimuli, Darrell and his family relocated to Montreal this past summer. This new collection represents the body of work produced during an eight month residency at the Montreal Art Centre.

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© Darell Oike

– Learn more about Darell Oike – https://www.darrelloike.com/
– If you would like to learn more about hermit crabs adapting with our waste please check out my post on “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes” by Shawn M Miller.
– Learn more about making a positive difference, TEDx talk | Adapting to or Changing Environment by Shawn M Miller

Light bulbs, Plastic Bottles and Hermit Crabs

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One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is to go beach walking.  Over the years I have seen a significant increase in the amount of marine debris washed ashore.  The trash is from all over the world, but majority of it washes up from Korea, China and Japan.

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The trash is overwhelming on our shorelines and will take a very long time to clean up. Its absolutely necessary that we work together to fix this worldwide issue.

When I look at the photograph below, I see the potential monetary value in these single use products. I think the only way to combat the problem is to reduce the use and to make the debris worth picking up by giving it a cash value. One solution for the plastic bottle problem would be to create a worldwide deposit-refund system. For example, If people were paid 5-10 cents per plastic bottle collected I guarantee our beaches and forest dumping grounds would be cleaner.

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Light bulbs are another form of debris that wash ashore. The light bulbs are transparent and blend in well with the surrounding beach litter. I have accidental stepped on light bulbs while beach combing after typhoons. It is important to wear protective footwear on majority of the beaches surrounding the Ryukyu Islands.

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Try and find the broken light bulb below, this is a common site on local beaches.

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Meet Edison,  A resourceful blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus ) found naturally using a incandescent light bulb screw end as a protective home. I usually find hermit crabs adapting with plastic tops and twist top caps. This was my first encounter with a hermit crab using a light bulb screw end as a mobile home.

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The hermit crab is one of the few animals that can successfully adapt with our waste. If you would like to learn more about hermit crabs adapting with our waste please check out my post on “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes” by Shawn M Miller.

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This post is not to make people sad, guilty or lose hope, It is to bring awareness to the ongoing trash problem in our oceans and on our shorelines. We all have the ability to make a difference by reducing the amount of single-use items we use daily.

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Learn more about making a difference, TEDx talk | Adapting to or Changing Environment by Shawn M Miller

My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bringing solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.