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Located on Florida's Gulf
Coast between Fort Myers and Sarasota lies Venice, the so called
“Shark's Teeth Capital of the World”. On any given day at Casperson
State Park you will find dozens (if not hundreds) of people walking the
miles of beach looking to find fossilized sharks teeth. With a keen eye
and a bit of work, it is not uncommon to find a few dozen teeth in the
course of an hour or two (it becomes even easier through the use of a
handled sifter the locals call “Florida snow shovels”).
With the right conditions,
snorkelers in Venice can also cash in on the abundance of teeth. The
waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Venice are frequently choppy and murky,
but a bit of luck condition-wise can make Venice snorkeling a nice
addition to a day at the beach.
When the visibility is at
least a few feet (it sounds small, but you will be searching for the
teeth in the stones at arms length so you really don't need much
more....) head to Casperson State Park at the south end of Venice and
hit the water. The best bet is to snorkel within a few yards (if not a
few feet) of shore – looking in areas where piles of rocks and shells
accumulate for the telltale black outlines of sharks teeth. Occasionally
teeth with accumulate at sandbars and breaks that may be 5-25 yards
offshore. If you see the water breaking offshore it may be worth a quick
trip out to have a look. As always, be careful as riptides are not
unheard of in the area and there are no lifeguards at Casperson.
Snorkeling is also an
option on the main beach at Venice (closer to the center of town), but a
beach restoration project a few years back has covered up the majority
of sharks teeth. Still, starfish, interesting shells, sand dollars and
small fish are not uncommon finds off the beach. Dolphins are common,
and Manatees are a rare but not impossible sighting when you are
snorkeling in Venice, Fl.
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