From Mermaids to Prosthetic Legs: The Thrilling Auction of Texas' Strangest Beach Finds for a Good Cause

Texas Beach Trash Auction Raises Funds for Sea Turtles and Birds

Over the years, hundreds of peculiar and unusual items have washed up on the beaches of southeastern Texas, from a three-foot-long fiberglass mermaid to disfigured toy dolls and cracked bowling balls. Many of these items were auctioned off last weekend to raise funds for the Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), a facility that rehabilitates sea turtles and birds. The auction, called "Tony's Trash to Treasure," is named after the founder of ARK, Tony Amos, who passed away in 2017.

The Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve has been selling the best beach finds to raise funds for ARK for about 15 years. Last year's auction brought in around $3,000, and the reserve hasn't yet revealed this year's total. However, the mermaid went for $300, and every penny counts for ARK, which rehabilitates about 1,500 animals per year and relies largely on donations.

The reserve's researchers and volunteers come across these unusual objects during regular survey walks along a 40-mile stretch of sand between Padre Island and Matagorda Island on the Texas coast. While they're looking for marine mammals, sea turtles, and birds, they also find plenty of trash, including marine debris that washes up from other states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

This year's auction items also included a message in a bottle from Jamaica, boating equipment, anold Bible, a Chinese beer, and 19th-century steamship coal. The dolls, which are often covered in barnacles or are missing their limbs, hair, and eyes, are among the weirdest finds. Despite the disheartening sight of trash littering the beach, the reserve's staff tries to stay positive and regularly posts photos of their finds on social media.

Last July, the reserve's fundraising efforts got a boost when John Oliver, host of "Last Week Tonight," filmed a web segment about the creepy dolls that wash ashore and ended up buying them for $10,000. The reserve will continue auctioning off oddball items and doing "crazy things" to raise awareness about ocean protection, says Jace Tunnell, the reserve's director. Ultimately, they want people to know about what's in the ocean and care about it.

While it may seem strange to auction off discarded items to fund animal rehabilitation, the "Tony's Trash to Treasure" benefit is a creative way to turn beach trash into something positive. The event not only raises money for a good cause, but it also promotes awareness about the importance of protecting marine life and the environment.