Some critters have more star power than others. It helps to be cute like sea otters or monarch butterflies. Or gracefully dangerous like great white sharks and mountain lions. Or edible like abalone ...

HAMPTON BEACH — One of the great advantages to living along the ocean are the amazing things that show up on the beach after a storm. We often forget that there is a whole world under the ocean waves ...

Mrs. Dora J. Ryan of Santa Maria, enjoys the comforts of home as friends clam at Pismo Beach in January 1965. “Some 30 years ago I used to come here with my boys, but we didn’t have to go out far for ...

Most marine animals form their shells from calcium carbonate, which is a tough mineral also found in limestone. Some sponges ...

PISMO BEACH — Once a cherished central California fishery, Pismo clams went missing from their namesake beach for decades. The treasured shellfish, however, are now making a steady, triumphant return.

THE MONTH OF May has provided a great introduction to the North Olympic Peninsula for a new outdoors columnist. But the many openings cause some to get overlooked. For example, the clams and oyster ...

This week’s low midafternoon tides provided excellent beachcombing conditions around lunchtime. I found a variety of treasures, including pen shells, pear whelks, and hundreds of Atlantic cockles.