demodiki
Aquarium Advice Freak
I would imagine that any scrupulous dive company is NOT going to let you catch fish on their trips. They would probably be subject to prosecution just like you.
fish from the ocean?
- Thread starter hc8719
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newfound77951
Aquarium Advice Addict
There is a difference in getting a permit to collect live fish and getting a fishing license, which implies that you will either release the fish live, or kill and eat it.
There is one scenario here that folks haven't thought of, and most probably don't realize. Many many tropical fish get transported very far north by the Gulf Stream, either as larvae or adult fish, and end up far north of their home waters. Here in RI there are numerous reports from divers and trawl catches of lookdowns, bigeyes, butterflies and many other species in Narragansett Bay! These fish will die when the water temps decline. Whether or not they are suitable as aquarium fish is still debatable, as is the legality of collecting such fish, but the fact is that they will not survive the winter, so no ecological harm would be done by removing them from northern waters.
I happen to have an unlimited collector's permit for research purposes, as do many people I know (perks for being an oceanographer). We do try to release as many animals as we can, and particularly any that are not legal size for regular fishing (ie lobsters etc).
Just something I'd thought I'd pass on, as I thought folks might find it interesting and probably not something you think about every day.
There is one scenario here that folks haven't thought of, and most probably don't realize. Many many tropical fish get transported very far north by the Gulf Stream, either as larvae or adult fish, and end up far north of their home waters. Here in RI there are numerous reports from divers and trawl catches of lookdowns, bigeyes, butterflies and many other species in Narragansett Bay! These fish will die when the water temps decline. Whether or not they are suitable as aquarium fish is still debatable, as is the legality of collecting such fish, but the fact is that they will not survive the winter, so no ecological harm would be done by removing them from northern waters.
I happen to have an unlimited collector's permit for research purposes, as do many people I know (perks for being an oceanographer). We do try to release as many animals as we can, and particularly any that are not legal size for regular fishing (ie lobsters etc).
Just something I'd thought I'd pass on, as I thought folks might find it interesting and probably not something you think about every day.
hc8719
Aquarium Advice Addict
demodiki said:
i could imagine a normal dive company wouldnt... however some do have trips in which the while purpose is to catch fish, anyone can do it, the i know they're usually on foreign water
...can we just drop this thread?
hc8719 said:
I thought the same thing. But when I visited cousins in florida and talked to people about it, I think the law states that you have to catch the fish by Rod, reel?, and line with hook/bait. I've heard of people down there fishing with nets and they would get it real trouble if caught.
But then, it's probably been about 5 years since i've visited FL so laws may have changed or my memory is faulty.
Ok, I just have to toss my 2 cents into this lively debate.
I have collected animals from the coast of NC for many, many years. Not comercial, but a few here and a few there for my own tanks.
Most notable things I have collected from the south coast of North Carolina.
Blue striped hermit crabs from the mudflats at low tide. Great for a FOLR setup, as these guys are the meanest, nastiest hermits you can find. They get quite large too. Not for a reef tank, and will eat any fish they can catch. I say they are good because they will eat any scraps of food in the tank.
Purple urchins - got one of these, and sold it after about a year. It systematicaly ate every scrap of corline algae off of my live rock in my tank. Very pretty, but very destructive. Very hard to pick up too, those spines hurt.
Conch looking snails. I can't remember their real name, but they look like little 2 inch conch snails. They are reef safe and behave just like a queen conch. Good find, look in the tide area at night for them in the sand. They leave little tracks in the sand and usually about 2 inches down in it.
Now, for the part that will probably piss everyone off. Many years ago, I had a rather large white spot green moray eel. I could not keep anything else in the tank with him, it was his tank. He even attacked and killed a large lion fish. One year while at the beach, I was fishing and kept catching all these real tiny spot and croakers. Too small to eat, anyway. So, I kept 10 of them the last day I was there and drove them home to see if they could live in my tank with Homer, that big eel.
Well, 2 died during the 4 hour trip home. I put the rest into the 55 gallon tank and 2 more didn't make it during the first night.
So, out of 10, 6 survived one week. Not good odds, if you ask me. Anyway, then I noticed one was missing. Then I noticed Homer was really fat. So, I fed the little shrinking school of fish regular fish food and Homer would grab one a month. The next year, I did the same thing with about the same results. Homer was happy with the arrangement anyway. The spot and croakers schooled too, it was pretty to watch the tank and know that I didn't pay any money for what was going to end up as eel food.
I would be a whole lot more careful if I had a reef tank, and quarantine is a must if you do this.
As for collecting on dive trips - if the trip is to a site more than 6 miles out, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do. I have personally spearfished for spadefish in the Chesapeke bay on a dive trip, and no one said a word to me.
As far as I know, there is no 'limit' on what you can collect in international waters. Collecting inside state parks, like John Pennycamp in FL where I dive a lot, is prohibited, but if you do a dive in *non-state park* water, I believe you can collect whatever you want to.
David
I have collected animals from the coast of NC for many, many years. Not comercial, but a few here and a few there for my own tanks.
Most notable things I have collected from the south coast of North Carolina.
Blue striped hermit crabs from the mudflats at low tide. Great for a FOLR setup, as these guys are the meanest, nastiest hermits you can find. They get quite large too. Not for a reef tank, and will eat any fish they can catch. I say they are good because they will eat any scraps of food in the tank.
Purple urchins - got one of these, and sold it after about a year. It systematicaly ate every scrap of corline algae off of my live rock in my tank. Very pretty, but very destructive. Very hard to pick up too, those spines hurt.
Conch looking snails. I can't remember their real name, but they look like little 2 inch conch snails. They are reef safe and behave just like a queen conch. Good find, look in the tide area at night for them in the sand. They leave little tracks in the sand and usually about 2 inches down in it.
Now, for the part that will probably piss everyone off. Many years ago, I had a rather large white spot green moray eel. I could not keep anything else in the tank with him, it was his tank. He even attacked and killed a large lion fish. One year while at the beach, I was fishing and kept catching all these real tiny spot and croakers. Too small to eat, anyway. So, I kept 10 of them the last day I was there and drove them home to see if they could live in my tank with Homer, that big eel.
Well, 2 died during the 4 hour trip home. I put the rest into the 55 gallon tank and 2 more didn't make it during the first night.
So, out of 10, 6 survived one week. Not good odds, if you ask me. Anyway, then I noticed one was missing. Then I noticed Homer was really fat. So, I fed the little shrinking school of fish regular fish food and Homer would grab one a month. The next year, I did the same thing with about the same results. Homer was happy with the arrangement anyway. The spot and croakers schooled too, it was pretty to watch the tank and know that I didn't pay any money for what was going to end up as eel food.
I would be a whole lot more careful if I had a reef tank, and quarantine is a must if you do this.
As for collecting on dive trips - if the trip is to a site more than 6 miles out, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do. I have personally spearfished for spadefish in the Chesapeke bay on a dive trip, and no one said a word to me.
As far as I know, there is no 'limit' on what you can collect in international waters. Collecting inside state parks, like John Pennycamp in FL where I dive a lot, is prohibited, but if you do a dive in *non-state park* water, I believe you can collect whatever you want to.
David
abnmojo said:
As stated above "as far as I know" and "I believe" is what gets people in trouble. Not to bash David but please research the laws because there are laws that protect animals even in international waters. That's why you see the endangered species list and it is unlawful to hunt, kill, or capture that animal in any country.
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