Paleontica Community

Greetings!

My name is Eetu and I originate from Finland, now im in Africa and moving to Netherlands in a couple of months.

I have always been sucker for natural history and paleontology, though just now starting to consider to have a hobby from it.

Every piece of advice, tip or information etc is greatly appreciated.. All information that I've been reading starts to get a little overwhelming and confusing, and I dont really know, how to get started..

-Lihaaja-

Hey Eetu,

Welcome to our webforum! Paleontology is a wonderful world to explore, and Fossiel.net is a good place to start.

Where in the Netherlands will you be moving?

Cheers,
Johan

Thank you! Im sure it is. And already noticed how useful site this is.

I'll be located in Groningen when I get to move.

OK, that's close to the Wadden Islands (which are beautiful and also provide some opportunity to hunt for fossil shells and amber).

Are there any particular types of fossils you are interested in?

cheers,
Johan

Ok, thank you..! I will definitely check those islands out.

So far I dont have anything particular in mind. I thought that it would be nice to collect "everything" at first and decide later, what I want to specialize at. But im not quite into neogene, or quarternary fossils (even though i wouldnt mind if i found those too.)

I tried to find what dutch laws say about collecting and extracting, but i couldnt find anything, atleast in english. Unfortunately I cant speak or read dutch at all..

-Lihaaja-

Welcome

Hyvaa paiva (did I write it correctly?)! Welcome!

I'm not sure whether there are specific laws on fossil collecting. Collecting on private property without permission is not allowed. On public land it is allowed I guess, as long as you don't ruin things or cause trouble. And if you find anything of special scientific interest, it is custom that you contact a museum.

KoenJ wrote:
Hyvaa paiva (did I write it correctly?)! Welcome!

I'm not sure whether there are specific laws on fossil collecting. Collecting on private property without permission is not allowed. On public land it is allowed I guess, as long as you don't ruin things or cause trouble. And if you find anything of special scientific interest, it is custom that you contact a museum.

Hyvää päivää, almost..! and thank you!

Yeah, i was guessing that there is atleast that kind of rules/laws. But wanted to make sure, because in some places they can be really strict. And I can take my (unimportant) findings to Finland, when im moving back there? In Estonia, it is forbidden to export any findings, I believe..

Kiitos for the correction!

I don't know whether you can take fossils out of the Netherlands....I only bring 'm in

Well, I've never heard anybody about this, so I guess there are no (strict) laws. I wouldn't worry, borderpolice will probably think you're an idiot with a suitcase full of useless stones.

The laws in the Netherlands are quite relaxt on this. Collecting is allowed on public lands. For nature reserves there are of course special regulations. There are no laws prohibiting the export of fossils from the Netherlands, so don't worry about that.

If you are not that much into Neogene of Quarternary, it will require a little bit more effort to find fossils in the Netherlands, as an estimated 90% of the country is covered by Neogene&Quarternary deposits. There are a few exceptions in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, where there are a few Paleogene, Cretaceous and Triassic exposures, which do provide some opportunities. Bur it is a lot harder to find fossils there, these days.

Alternatively, there are quite a few sites where erratics can be found (so Mesozoic and Paleozoic fossils reworked into Pleistocene gravels and moraine deposits).

Cheers,
Johan