The 2025 Live Mollusk Count took place on Sanibel Island last January 12, achieving very good results. The number of participants, methods, and count area were comparable to Live Mollusk Counts done in the recent past. The Live Mollusk Counts have been organized by the National Shell Museum & Aquarium (under the leadership of Associate Director of Education Jorden Falker) in collaboration with the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club (under the leadership of Debi McBroom.)
The 2025 count hints that mollusk numbers seem to be near normal levels for some species, following the diverse effects of 2024 storms, chiefly hurricanes Helene and Milton. Most abundant species at the 2025 count were Variable Coquinas, Fighting Conchs, and Depressed Slipper Snails. Fighting Conchs were also among the most abundant species observed in the 2024 count. However, species present in relatively large numbers in 2024 such as Apple Murexes, Calico Scallops, Banded Tulips, and Lightning Whelks were not observed in large numbers in the 2025 event.
