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Albertas Petkevičius, leader of Palanga Amber Craftsmen's Guild, is quick to dispel amber-land delusions: the amount that is collected on Lithuanian shores would not suffice to meet the demand from Palanga craftsmen alone, writes LETA.

"I see amber as a crude material. It is the same, whether found here or dug in Kaliningrad. No one could collect enough of it," he said, admitting that he only used one or two kilos of Lithuanian amber last year for his jewelry.

Vytautas Januska, Director of the Underground Resources Department at Lithuanian Geology Service, delivers striking news: there are no data about how much amber Lithuania collects in its territory.

"Lithuania does not engage in amber mining, we do not have any deposits. There is even no indication that such mining would be at all possible. It's like picking mushrooms – you can have whatever you find, that's it. It would be impossible to track the yearly amount of amber that people collect," he said.

The biggest deposits of amber are to be found in the Sambian Peninsula (Russian Kaliningrad), but they too are running dry. In 1996, output of the Yantarny mine (Palvininkai in Lithuanian) in Russian Kaliningrad was 500-600 tons; in recent years, amber miners could only deliver half as much. Amber is running out and its price is on the rise, since increasing interest is coming from the Chinese. They are close to becoming new masters of the Yantarny mine, while Lithuanian jewelry expositions are almost always visited by guests from China.

Regina Makauskiene, project manager at Palanga Amber Museum, can still recall sea storms of 1981-1982.

Back then, she said, people would leave the beach with handfuls of amber. After that, the Baltic Sea has never been so generous.

Igor Osnach is a guide taking tourists on amber-fishing trips along the Baltic shore. He is certain that there will be enough of the Baltic gold for everyone.

"If amber lay on the Baltic sea bed for millions of years, one generation will surely not manage to dig it all up," he smiles.

The guide, who calls himself the sea child, says he often spends entire days looking for amber. On the day that we met, he had been at the shore from dawn. By nightfall, he was already estimating his finds. Almost 200 grams of tiny pieces of amber.

"Not the best catch. There are days when I bring a kilo or two," Igor said.

According to him, the most of the tourists he takes on his tours are Lithuanians. Many are surprised to find out that one can fish for amber.

It is said that amber comes in 250 different shades. Inexperienced fishers often mistake yellow pebbles for amber. Igor suggests rubbing any find against one's palm. If it emits slight odour of pine resin – that means it is amber.