coral collecting in FL

[sharkboy1410]

so basically- here are the things that are okay to take (correct me if im wrong)

ok- ricordea, zoas, soft corals, tropical fish (if you can catch one), plants, clams

not ok- live rock, lps corals, sps corals, gorgonians

i think harvesting is ok aslong as your not braking off pieces from colonies, its ok if you take a small piece of liverock with zoanthids or ricordea on it, because you're not destryoing any colonies, but taking a little rock back with corals on it. We all have sides to this here, but lets try and keep tempers down, seeing that this stuff can get argumentative easily

[xaoss23]

Originally Posted by sharkboy1410

not ok- live rock

Originally Posted by sharkboy1410

i think harvesting is ok aslong as your not braking off pieces from colonies...

Originally Posted by sharkboy1410

...but taking a little rock back with corals on it.

[sharkboy1410]

you can take little rocks with coral on them, aslong as the rocks aren't too big.. hope that makes more sense, you really cant take live rock by the pound like we have for our tanks. Just little pieces with zoas or ric's on them are ok

[xaoss23]

not to keep this thread going and going... but what are your plans for storage/transport? Are you driving or flying?

[sharkboy1410]

flying, and we're diving on the day we leave, so... i plan to bring a cooler- bags, and a filter, so if i find anything that i'm allowed to take with me, it can have filteration till' we're ready to leave, and the day i leave, i'll bag every thing-up in the cooler, and bring it with me as a carry-on. do you think that sounds good, and i'm going to dip them when i get home, and but them in a coral disinfectant to kill any unwanted critters in the coral.

[xaoss23]

well... good luck, I hope anything that you collect survives... and you too for that matter(diving/flying)

[sharkboy1410]

i know, i said that to my dad (about the nitrogen in blood stream while flying), but chances are we are diving in the morning, and leaving at night, and we aren't diving deeper than 20 feet (due to locations we are visiting), so i think everything will be fine, and chances are that things will end-up changing. With the coral part, i've successfully brought back 4 out 4 red sponges i found during springbreak, and they are doing well, so i hope i have luck with any possible legal corals i find, hey, and maybe i'll have some extras to give away!

[hng]

Diving and flying the same day is a bit of a risk, but you can make up your mind on that.

The link above about "sealective" charters clearly states that the collection of live rock from the wild is illegal, they get theirs from a specific designated "farm". They mostly are about harvesting fish, they make no mention really about harvesting coral (at least I didn't see any).

As for collecting "legal" live rock and corals from the Keys, I guess anything is legal until you get caught. In other words, regardless of what the law says, people will interpret it in different ways and they will ultimately "choose" whether they want to follow the word or even the spirit of the law. I will say the following and then let it go

Here is the exact statement from ammendment 2 of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Regulations passed in 1997 which prohibits the:

(ii) Possessing, moving, harvesting, removing, taking, damaging,
disturbing, breaking, cutting, spearing, or otherwise injuring any
coral, marine invertebrate, fish, bottom formation, algae, seagrass
or other living or dead organism, including shells, or attempting
any of these activities.

Here is the link if you want to read it: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...id=fr12jn97-17

[sharkboy1410]

Well the other link on the first page does say what you are allowed to take LEGALLY, and i know for a fact you can tank a soft coral/zoanthid/ricordea that is on a small piece of LR, probally no bigger than two inches would be ok, and you would be fine if they searched through what you had.

Point is - there are limits to what you may or may not take, it is illegal to take LPS, SPS, gorgonians, large LR pieces, its illegal to damage a reef, harm corals, brake of pieces of corals, bur not illegal to take small rocks with coral already attached. That isn't destryoing a reef, its just picking-up a rock. So i know some of you guys feel its wrong to take these corals at all out of the ocean, but then think again- where are your corals from that are in your tank? Sure they may be propagetd or aquacultured from someone else's tank, but it all had to start from the ocean at some point. So as long as your taking legal corals, and not damaging colonies by ripping it apart, it's ok. You can pick-up small rocks with small soft coral colonies on it, and a frag of a soft coral is ok too. You just have to be safe and treat everything with care.

I'm probally just going to take some hermits, snails, rics, and zoas back, which is completely legal, so that is ok.

[ReelFreak]

After re-reading my post, I feel a little like the devils advocate here......My main point here was to spread THE TRUTH and the LAW on what is allowed.

Seems to me so many times people asking about collecting are scorned upon, and the information the individual was trying to get in the first place just gets clouded by opinions/ experiences.

YES I DO worry about the reefs being around for my kids/grandkids to see one day, BUT when a question is raised about what can be legally collected.....I choose to provide accurate and updated Regulations as to what is allowed....

I didn't make the law and neither condone nor condeme it, but I want to spread accurate information about what is allowed. MY opinion will come out at times, but first and foremost I wish to spread "good information" as in accurate info....

Sorry for stirring the pot, and causing any ruckess.....I'm just hoping the visibility clears up over the next couple of days CUZ it's time to leave to the keys.

PS- those guys are right about flying/diving in the same day.....although a flight from the keys to Atlanta ( I assume) might not gain too much altitude, it seems a risk none the less......FWIW

[xaoss23]

I dont think you really stirred things up.. its just one of those topics that really get peoples attention.

Ofcourse, we're all hypocrites saying not to collect from the wild... I personally just dont agree in including it as part of the individuals hobby. Leave that up to the professionals IMO.

Marine science is such a young branch... there are so many unanswered questions and the ecology of reefs in general is just a big unknown. We really dont know the affects of much out there.

[sharkboy1410]

UPDATE: we are NOT going to Key West anymore... we are going to KEY LARGO! Even better diving! Are the rules for collecting any different there?

[xaoss23]

there's better diving and more protected areas

[Daytona955]

Great diving in penecamp state park, some cool wrecks, a 10 ft green moray on one of em that has been nick named Goliath. He came out for us and we were able to get a couple pictures of him. I forget teh exact site he was at, but it was the hull of an old wooden ship. Also the "Christ of the Abyss" was a cool dive. You will see some interesting diversity. There is absolutely no collection there though.

[Melissa]

Hey, sharkboy,
check out this map of the marine sanctuary areas: http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/research...oring/map.html

You can click on the various popular dive sites on the reefs around and it will give you some info on the sites. There are some specifics about corals and such:

Summary of Protection:
In additional to Sanctuary-wide Regulations described in 15CFR922.163 (pdf), the following activities are prohibited within Ecological Reserves as described in Appendix IV of 15CFR922 (pdf), and within Sanctuary Preservation Areas as described in Appendix V of 15CFR922 (pdf):
(i) Discharging or depositing any material or other matter except cooling water or engine exhaust.
(ii) Possessing, moving, harvesting, removing, taking, damaging, disturbing, breaking, cutting, spearing, or otherwise injuring any coral, marine invertebrate, fish, bottom formation, algae, seagrass or other living or dead organism, including shells, or attempting any of these activities. However, fish, invertebrates, and marine plants may be possessed aboard a vessel in an Ecological Reserve or Sanctuary Preservation Area, provided such resources can be shown not to have been harvested within, removed from, or taken within, the Ecological Reserve or Sanctuary Preservation Area, as applicable, by being stowed in a cabin, locker, or similar storage area prior to entering and during transit through such reserves or areas, provided further that in an Ecological Reserve or Sanctuary Preservation Area located in Florida State waters, such vessel is in continuous transit through the Ecological Reserve or Sanctuary Preservation Area.



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