![\"Jace](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778507828_548_.webp\")
Jace Tunnell poses with some of the \u201csea pigs\u201d he\u2019s found. (Courtesy of Jace Tunnell \/ Harte Research Institute)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tJace Tunnell poses with some of the \u201csea pigs\u201d he\u2019s found. (Courtesy of Jace Tunnell \/ Harte Research Institute)<\/p>\n
The Texas Standard is excited to start sharing the Beachchombing Report from Jace Tunnell, Director of Community Engagement for the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The series can also be found on YouTube<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n During my weekly beachcombing surveys along the Texas coast, I\u2019ve grown used to finding strange things washed ashore \u2014 from toothbrushes and action figures to weathered dolls. But one item continues to stand out: Plastic piggy banks, now nicknamed \u201csea pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n This week\u2019s survey was especially remarkable. Along just 13 miles of beach, I documented 14 piggy banks scattered among thick wracks of sargassum. That makes over 60 piggy banks that I\u2019ve found personally over the past year.<\/p>\n Their bright colors \u2014 pink, blue, and yellow \u2014 contrasted sharply with the tangled seaweed, making them easy to spot but hard to explain.<\/p>\n RELATED: \u2018We\u2019ve never seen it like this\u2019: Seaweed piles up on Galveston shore<\/a><\/p>\n Some of these pigs even appear brand new, never used, with a small plastic tab still sealing the coin slot, suggesting they went straight from store shelves to the sea.<\/p>\n Over the past year, reports of these sea pigs have come from across the Gulf Coast, suggesting this is not an isolated event. What\u2019s new, however, is a clue about their origin: Most we recover, we believe, were manufactured in the Dominican Republic, pointing to the Caribbean as a likely source.<\/p>\n How do they get here? One possibility is a lost shipping container, as thousands fall overboard each year. Another is land-based disposal, where bulk plastic enters rivers and is carried to sea.<\/p>\n Once in the Gulf, currents do the rest. The Loop Current<\/a> and its eddies can move debris long distances before depositing it along Texas beaches, often mixed in with seasonal sargassum.<\/p>\n While these piggy banks may seem harmless, their growing numbers tell a larger story. Marine debris crosses borders easily, and Texas, positioned along major current pathways, receives more than its share \u2014 ten times to be exact, compared to other states in the Gulf, and all due to the Loop Current.<\/p>\n Continued monitoring will help determine whether this spike comes from a single event or an ongoing source, but for now, these colorful little travelers keep arriving with every tide each week.<\/p>\n Maybe the Gulf is just saving up for something big, one pig at a time.<\/p>\n If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here<\/a>. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org<\/a> and KUT.org<\/a>. Thanks for donating today.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t