2 questions
- Thread starter pipebash
- Start date
Reef Bass
colors and textures
From my quick googling, it appears rhizotrochus are illegal to import. I tried to cite a reference to another reef keeping site, but RC's filtering won't allow me to list the site or even a link to the site. Here's an excerpt from this article talking about why one occasionally sees them for sale:
the reason that is is because once the illicit coral has cleared customs and entered the country, there are no laws governing the ownership and resale of this species; all of the regulation takes place on the front end of importation and once they are in the animals are free and clear. We’ve tried to inform some other blogs of the black market nature of these corals but our comments just get deleted and there seems to be a general distaste for even bringing up the legality of Rhizotrochus in the US aquarium trade. Since there are no CITES permits for the importation of Rhizotrochus into the US, Rhizos are intentionally shipped with paperwork for either Euphyllia or Catalyphyllia, Torch and Elegance corals, since these species can look very similar when their tissues are withdrawn. You know what that’s called? Smuggling. The only exception to the CITES permitting quota process is the country of Australia where exporters are alloted collection quotas based on tonnage. However, Rhizotrochus typus does not even occur in Australia so any vendor trying to pass off Aussie Rhizos is outright lying or misinformed.
the reason that is is because once the illicit coral has cleared customs and entered the country, there are no laws governing the ownership and resale of this species; all of the regulation takes place on the front end of importation and once they are in the animals are free and clear. We’ve tried to inform some other blogs of the black market nature of these corals but our comments just get deleted and there seems to be a general distaste for even bringing up the legality of Rhizotrochus in the US aquarium trade. Since there are no CITES permits for the importation of Rhizotrochus into the US, Rhizos are intentionally shipped with paperwork for either Euphyllia or Catalyphyllia, Torch and Elegance corals, since these species can look very similar when their tissues are withdrawn. You know what that’s called? Smuggling. The only exception to the CITES permitting quota process is the country of Australia where exporters are alloted collection quotas based on tonnage. However, Rhizotrochus typus does not even occur in Australia so any vendor trying to pass off Aussie Rhizos is outright lying or misinformed.
