CAYO COSTA, Fla. -- They shuffle along the beaches, eyes cast down, as if in a trance.

Occasionally, they dig in the sand with their toes, or with specialized shovels. They, shellers combing the beaches of Floridas outer islands, are searching for treasures in the form of Augers, Angel Wings, Buttons, Ceriths or Coquinas.

Shelling is a popular activity on Sanibel, North Captiva, Cayo Costa and other Gulf Coast islands. Businesses such as Captiva Cruises offer excursions just for shelling.

Its one of the top three places in the world to go shelling, said Brian Holaway. These out islands dont have as many people that shell on the islands. This morning there were 40 people on this beach (Cayo Costa) as opposed to 4,000. Ive been doing this for 20 years, and Ive had people go out with me for 15 years, at every time of the year.

The trip to Cayo Costa, an isolated island off the southwest coast of Florida, involved a 30-minute boat ride from Captiva Island. Shellers were turned loose on the beach for several hours to hunt their treasures.

We go out to the outer islands, Cayo Costa, and we have trips to other islands, Holaway said. We go to the islands that are only accessible by boat, and to the state parks so there arent as many people there. Its a lot of the same shells, but not as many people on the beaches.

The Gulf Coast islands, with their sandy beaches and shallow flats, are natural depositories for shells.

Just because of the orientation of the islands, and its very shallow out in the Gulf of Mexico, so along the whole Gulf Coast here, Holaway said. Sanibel runs east and west so it can act as a little catch pit. The other islands are still good, but Sanibel is east and west, so it can kind of catch them differently.

Sanibel is known for its shelling, but it is also the most populated of the islands.

Shells can be found nearly anywhere on these beaches. However, not all shelling trips are created equal.

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Florida beaches no shell game