harvesting own coral possible?

The fact is, when it comes to corals, most experts can't tell a good portion of corals down to the species level without a view of the skeleton. It applies mostly to SPS as I understand, but I can only imagine that a decent number of soft corals have features that need to be distinguished with a dissection to accurately tell the species of a given specimen.

I'm arguing about the current system, not the way it should be.

If I had a choice (as in, if I were the eco-dictator), I'd require that any frag taken would need to be balanced with 2 equally-sized frags placed back into the ocean in the same area within a period of time dependent on the growth rate of the species, and require that any already-collected color schema of a species could not be harvested at all.

 

federal limit is 6 octocorals. used to be 8. there are areas in the gulf that are mpa's and there are areas that are mpa's. FL has closed areas as well. some stuff that is out there requires that you know where your going and what your doing. best to go with someone who has experience. I think if you had a minnow trap or cast net, youd have more fun at the jetties in FL. there are a ton of cool blennies and wrasses. there are tangs there as well. of course you need a license. no big deal. there is nothing wrong with collecting yourself. just follow the law. I really cant believe some would suggest making collection illegal with no data to suggest it is a harmful practice at current levels.. If its one thing I know its when the feds shut something down, they NEVER give it back. Im pretty sure that this isnt a common practice amongst tourists and residents. just like we eat lobsters out of the gulf and pull them off the rigs. noone really knows they are there or targets them. there are corals/coralline on the rigs/wrecks as well. imagine that.. evil oil companies supporting fisheries/coral growth. btw when an oil lease expires in a block, the rig is required to be dismantled down to the mud bottom. its total destruction of habitat. most of the gulf is nuthin but mud anyways no hard substrate cept for a few areas.

 

I think the direct physical threat we pose to the reefs is negligible compared to what we are doing by creating green house gases. If you consider what is happening to the reefs from more angles than just collection for the reef hobby, it's easy to see that man-kind in general will eventually destroy them completely. We damage the reefs in so many different ways that attempting to conserve them by any one facet is a waste of time. Sure stopping coral collection would save some polyps, but global warming and waste dumped into the oceans will still win in time. People put so much time into trying to save these ecosystems, but they fail to realize that merely by driving a car they are a part of the bigger problem. I think it's inevitable that some ecosystems will live on only in captivity one day, and the coral reefs are most likely on that list. The only real solution I see to the problem is to either kill every last human on Earth, or move them all to a different planet to destroy.

 

Bad practice. It is worse to return things to the ocean than it is to remove them. What if a new disease had developed in your aquaculture facility? You would infect the entire reef with a disease they had not built up an immunity to. Never return anything to the ocean once it has been removed.

 

I wasn't saying it should be illegal I just think you should need more then a fishing license to harvest coral.

 

check out what noaa/nmfs are trying to do with the red snapper fishery. divide and conquer. Trying to push the recreational fisherman out of the fishery and essentially turn over PUBLIC resource to the commercials. of course they still have to buy their reef fish permits every year.. this is happening right now. the only way youll be able to eat red snapper if this isnt stopped will be to buy it. just so happens tyson foods is about the biggest commercial in the snapper game. I would consider corals along the lines of a public resource. they sure have economic and recreational value dont they?

 

Umm wow, I was just asking if it was legal to harvest, I had no intention of just going out into the water and saying ooh that looks nice snatchies and no takesee backsies! I was wondering if it was at all legal and if there was an area where it was a place someone had purchased and I could snorkel with them and basically do a more in depth wysiwyg lol and maybe even frag it my self with his help. Yea this thread got out of hand fast lol

 

oh and since we are on the florida subject, anyone from florida near west palm beach know of any good charter boats or any boats that would take me deep sea fishing? Looking to do some fun stuff, want more ideas than what the girlfriend wants to do (shopping >.<)

 

Deep sea fishing sounds better than harvesting corals....here you go: Natural Sportfishing Charters - Palm Beach, FL have a safe trip and enjoy !

 

I find this interesting....so my 2 cents...

That Florida Fishing License revenue helps us get matching federal aid and help support the protection and enhancement of the fishery. Fishing license build reefs faster than nature ever could. Florida is one of the few places that can honestly say it is adding reef each year. Has the freeze, agriculture and coastal development made an impact? Sure, but the aquarium collection fishery does not make the impact I think people think it does. The fishery is well managed and the regulations, if followed, are sustainable. It isn't the Wild West here.

Collection is limited to anemones, (they are only "corals" in the hobby), like zoanthids b/c they have negligible long term habitat value, and octocorals that aren't of concern. (Sea Fans are protected and cannot be collected). Gorgs have a pretty liberal rule, 6 octos is a bit, but 5 polyps of zoas is nothing really. Whole lot of ocean here.... It doesn't just take a fishing license though, there are strict rules regarding the gear you can use to collect it AND you have to handle the livestock correctly, keeping it in an aerated or re-circulating filtration system while in transport. (live well). You can only use flexible blades that will remove the polyps without chipping into the rock, etc...the people who regulate this fishery are pretty knowledgeable and active. As long as you resist the temptation to take too much, I don't see the problem with it, and think your collection activity would be more than offset by the license fees. I have seen where the polyps grow....they are there by the millions, as long as you only take the small frag allowed it should grow back fast and the resource preserved.