MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – A completed beach renourishment project is uncovering more fossils and shark teeth along the shore.
The Coastal Shark Tooth Club is spending beach days scanning the sand for shark teeth instead of relaxing or swimming.
Renourishment creates new hunting ground
Club member Scott Whitesell said the renourishment project along the Grand Strand has made this stretch of beach one of the most productive areas for finding shark teeth.
“This is a renourished beach from when they did the renourishment along the Grand Strand,” Whitesell said. “What we do is we enjoy finding shark teeth, and this is one of the most highly productive areas for finding sharks teeth.”
Tips for spotting shark teeth
Whitesell said hunters should look for spots where waves roll over patches of broken shells, since that motion shakes teeth loose and leaves them behind.
“So if you see the shells down there by the waterline and the water is coming over top of them, that’s going to be the area you want to hunt,” Whitesell said. “Now up here in the dry sand you have just as much chance as finding the shark’s teeth after it rains or storms because all that is renourished beach too.”
Whitesell said heavy rain washes away the top layer of sand and shells, revealing shark teeth in areas away from the water.
“All of that is renourished beach too,” Whitesell said. “So a lot of people neglect going up there because it’s dry, people are laying out, there’s no sharks teeth up there, but we have found teeth like this right here, up there in the dry sand, and this is a great white.”
Club encourages newcomers to join the hunt
Club member Tonya Hall said the group wants to build a community around sharing information, rather than keeping hunting spots secret.
“There’s sometimes a lot of gatekeeping where people want to keep secrets about where they find sharks teeth,” Hall said. “And what we’ve done with the Coastal Shark Tooth Club is where we made it a community where we share where we find teeth.”
Whitesell said club members want others to be able to find shark teeth as well.
“We’re not guides, we’re just doing what we love,” Whitesell said. “We want everybody to be able to find the sharks teeth just like we do.”
Tiffany Rowan, visiting from Florida, said she spent her beach day searching for shark teeth.
“So it’s really such a great hobby for everyone to do of all ages,” Rowan said.
Whitesell says the best time to search for shark teeth is three to four hours before and after high tide.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WMBF. For more free content like this, download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2026 WMBF. All rights reserved.