Venice Beaches - a Magnet for Modern Treasure Seekers
By Carol Parker
Many visit the west coast beaches of Florida for the white sugar sand, the warm Gulf waters and the wonderful suntan to be had.
But there is a particular beach on the west coast where visitors flock for an altogether different reason: Buried Treasure!
No, not the sort of pirate lore. Caspersen Beach in Venice holds a different bounty, no less valued by modern day treasure seekers: prehistoric shark's teeth.
Located just south of the Venice Airport on Harbor Drive, Caspersen is the longest beach in the area. The southern two thirds remain in a natural state.
There is also a nature trail that meanders through a coastal hammock and connects to the Venetian Waterway Trail.
Arriving at Caspersen Beach along Harbor Drive gives the visitor a wonderful view of the Gulf through various sand dunes and sea oats along with the peaceful feeling of being one with nature. Leaving the parking area there is a scenic walk to the beach on a boardwalk, complete with a shower to clean off the sand on the way back.
On any given day you will find numerous “treasure hunters,”- many armed with the “Florida Snow Shovel”- designed with a wire scoop to hold the shells and sharks teeth while sifting out the sand. Others use a colander, bucket or just their hands and enjoy searching for the shining prizes, which may be black, brown or gray, depending on the minerals in the soil in which they have been buried. They range in size from 3 mm to 8 cm, and on rare occasions more! The fun at this particular beach is not just finding a shark's tooth yourself, but in watching the other beachgoers and the thrill at hearing someone exclaim “found one!”-
Incredible numbers of sharks once lived nearby and included the Sand Shark, Bull Shark, Mako, Lemon, Carcharodon, Dusky, Tiger Shark and Snaggletooth Shark. Today the shark is a rare sight, but the teeth continue to wash ashore and each species of shark has their own distinctive tooth shape.
Why is there apparently a greater concentration of teeth in the Venice area? “One explanation is that the Venice Beach area represents an ancient river bed. And that the water flow of the ancient river served to concentrate the teeth toward the mouth of the river (the area that is now Caspersen Beach). This is at least one theory,”- says John Tyminski, Senior Biologist at Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.
The recent beach renourishment project brought new sand from only a few thousand yards off the coast, yielding new fossilized sharks teeth for the treasure hunter. It is well known to the locals that there is an ancient shark burial ground a few miles off the coast of Venice where prehistoric fossils can be found by snorkeling or diving in the area. Another popular shark tooth area is located right next to the South Brohard Park or at Venice Public Beach.
Being named the “Shark's Tooth Capital of the World,”- the City of Venice, Florida in Sarasota County hosts an annual Sharks Tooth Festival in April. This well known festival is held near the Venice Fishing Pier, not far from Caspersen Beach. Filled with vendors showing and selling sharks teeth, this is a wonderful time to see the many varied local finds.
