VENICE – When Visit Sarasota County needs to differentiate southern Sarasota County beaches from the rest of the state, they temporarily point to the dominance of Venice and the pastime of searching for sand near the waves in search of fossilized shark teeth.
“This is very important,” said Erin Duggan, vice president of Visit Sarasota. Many beach communities have smart restaurants, he said, but “talking about shark tooth and that Venice is the shark tooth capital of the world, it has given us something to differentiate ourselves from other beaches. “
On its website, Visit Sarasota County claims that the Casey Key beaches south of Manasota Key are glorious places to hunt for shark teeth, but south of Brohard Beach and Caspersen Beach they stand out for the number of teeth, though fans of Shark teeth and fossils are quick to point out that the prized giant fossilized megalodon teeth are best discovered by scuba divers.
“I have personally met many other people on the beach and you can tell when you see someone on the beach by shark teeth,” said Kara Morgan, CEO of Venice MainStreet. “They come to Venice especially for this, the certainty plays into the identity of the city and is vital in terms of character, charm and culture, so to speak. “
The teeth of lemon and bull sharks are what other people who roam the coast most often locate.
Two retail stores on Venice Island, Earth Treasures at 207 W. Miami Ave. and Shark Frenzy at 262 S. Tamiami Trail, specialize in fossilized shark teeth and sell a variety of fossils to fans.
Brittanie Hervas and her parents Roy and Linda are precisely the kind of people Visit Sarasota likes to see the common beaches of the Venice area.
For years, they traveled from Schaumberg, Illinois, to the Gulf of Florida coast for a vacation.
They were in Captiva and then moved north to Venice, where they were fascinated by shark teeth.
“For about 15 years, we’ve been coming to Venice, alone on vacation here,” Roy Hervas said. “When we got here to look for shark teeth, we felt there would have to be more than just a sand flea rake. , and there were none. “
Hervase used resources from his snowplow shop in Schaumburg to create the Shark Tooth Sieve. Enough people were interviewed about the hybrid sieve / shovel that Hervas asked his brother, a lawyer, to help him write a patent.
After promoting sieve in stores, they opted to open Shark Frenzy in December 2019.
The inner color palette of its shop is aquamarine and violet, with an abundance of sieve with shark teeth, as well as other similar features that allow families to sift in combination with shark teeth, as well as trinkets, hats and tourist souvenirs.
“We need other people to enjoy the delight we had when we discovered shark teeth,” said Brittanie Hervas, who is the face of the store in an active social media presence that includes Facebook groups and TikTok.
“I post my emails to let others see what we’re on the beaches, and this starts the conversation,” Hervás said.
“We need it to be an amazing and incredible time for them, in fact we fall in love with collecting shark teeth, we know it’s a normal thing to do here in Venice,” he added.
Brittanie Hervas points out that her main demographic is other young people and women, as is her, a young woman captivated by shark teeth.
Don and Draeanne Rivette know all about the joy of collecting sharks and fossils.
“I like the feeling of discovery, as do the clients,” said Don Rivette. “It is a very exciting delight to look down and detect something, and then realize that it is a component of an animal that has not existed on this earth for millions of years. “
New England transplants began collecting and promoting at flea markets seven years ago in Port Charlotte. They went to their first store in Englewood, before moving to their current location on Miami Avenue about five years ago.
Of course, this hasn’t been simple since the move: first Hurricane Irma, then the red tide, followed the reconstruction of Tampa, Venice and Miami avenues across the city of Venice, and this year the COVID-19 pandemic that shortened the season.
“We have noticed that many outlets pass by and by the grace of God we are still here,” said Draeanne Rivette, who can make exclusive jewelry from the precious discoveries that consumers bring.
“Fossil shells, sea glass, it can wrap any object,” said Don Rivette, “people have brought stones that are vital to them, that they need to enjoy them. “
A consumer arrived in five consecutive days with discoveries of a fossil search with Don that she sought to turn into jewelry.
With the required style of a 45-foot-long megalodon jaw, crocodile heads, carvings and walls decorated with art to be surrendered by a local merchant, Earth Treasures has an ancient charm. Florida that comes with the times.
The store that appears in the 2018 PBS Fossil Hunters Mammoth Special, which can be fully available on YouTube.
To take advantage of the low-season break in late September, the Rivettes were doing a small remodeling of the store, adding a reorganization of the shelves, with white sea foam details painted on the blue floor.
They plan to increase their presence on the Internet with a Google 360 tour of the store, so that other people can better perceive what is in it.
“We’ve tried to diversify to satisfy customers’ desires,” Rivette said. “We competed with them on the street and competed online. “
Over the years, Don Rivette has befriended archaeologists and can communicate for hours about fossils of all kinds. Shark teeth, for many enthusiasts, are a bridge fossil.
A Dreanne necklace made with a Glyptodont shield, an armored plaque of a lost relative of the armadillo, was proudly removed.
“It’s an example of an Ice Age creature that many other people don’t know ever lived here,” he said, before continuing with how he got here from South America through the isthmus of Panama about 50 centuries ago. “When you start hunting for shark teeth, you locate other things. “
He loves it when other people bring him things he can identify.
“This opens up a whole new global exploration for other people who like to look for shark teeth,” Rivette said. “I like to locate fossils as much as shark teeth. “
For some people, this can lead to diving or diving in search of larger pieces, or just walk along the beach on the sand for a price.
“You can use your hands and eyes or get all kinds of complicated equipment,” Rivette said.
For young children, he said, a domestic strainer can be an access to the search for fossils or shark teeth.
Most of the teeth on Caspersen beach come from lemon sharks, it should be noted that a shark can produce 45,000 teeth. Multiply this across generations of offshore sharks and the variety of species (the other abundant highs are bull sharks) and it’s easy to understand why local shores seem to boast an endless population of shark teeth and fossils.
An ancient river channel off the coast is a fertile source of fossils, Rivette said. Divers will look for findings, while storms will release aircraft moving towards the coast under the action of the waves.
Most teeth, Note Don Rivette and Brittanie Hervas, are not the best because teeth break when eating.
Larger megalodron teeth, Rivette said, would possibly have dull tips because the fish had such a strong bite force to cut off the cartilage and whale vertebrae.
Although the store has another aesthetic and obviously competes, the owners are proud to provide convenient service to the visitor and perceive that they are offering souvenirs to novice travelers and returning enthusiasts.
“We are promoting an experience,” Brittanie Hervas said. ” They walk by the house with bags of teeth and that’s why they got here. “
Don Rivette said that some of the most memorable gifts they made were the discoveries of young people who “worked hard to locate shark teeth, but who sought to give them to their friend at school or send them to Grandma in the north. “
“It’s glorious to see how other people give shark teeth and love to the circle of family or friends. “
To be more informed about the shark tooth capital of the world, https://bit. ly/2SojvnL
Earth Treasures is located at 207 W. Miami Ave. , Venice. For more information, https://www. earthtreasuresflorida. com/ or call 941-412-3777.
Shark Frenzy is located at 262 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. For more information, https://sharktoothsifter. com/ call or call 847-584. 5072.