Just FYI, here is an email i received a while back stating some of the rules and regulations. It doesn't apply to wild caught fish, but still is good information.
The harvest of most species of Coral is prohibited in state waters. For more information, please visit our webpage at
http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/coral_questions.htm.
Live Rock:
Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 68B-42.008 (
http://fac.dos.state.fl.us/) states:
1) No person shall harvest or possess for sale any live rock in or from state waters or land any live rock harvested in or from state waters, except as may be provided in subsection (3).
2) No person shall sell, within the State of Florida, any live rock harvested in or from federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters adjacent to state waters unless such person possesses and Aquaculture Certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to Chapter 597, Florida Statutes, and a federal Live Rock Aquaculture Permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service under 50 C.F.R. Part 638.
3) Subsection 1) shall not apply to:
a) any person possessing an Aquaculture Certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to Chapter 597, Florida Statutes, harvesting and landing rock cultured on state submerged lands leased from the State of Florida. Rock used for such culture shall be of a readily distinguishable geologic character from rock native to the area or be securely marked or tagged so as to differentiate the cultured rock from naturally occurring live rock. The rock shall be placed on leased submerged lands by the lease-holder or a person possessing written authorization from the lease-holder.
b) Any person lawfully harvesting substrate as part of the harvest of octocorals pursuant to subsection 68B-42.005(4) or paragraph 68B-42.006(2)(c), F.A.C.
Plants:
Depending on which plant species you are targeting, you may be required to obtain a Marine Life Endorsement. Plant life not covered by the Marine Life Regulations (
http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/recharvestmls.htm) may be covered by the Department of Environmental Protection's regulations (
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/). For more information concerning the DEP, please contact the Bureau of Aquatic Plant Management at 850-245-2555, who is responsible for aquatic plant issues including spraying permits and contracted removal.
Live Sand :
“Live Sand†is a misnomer; basically sand per se is dead and of geologic origin: quartzite, oolitic, other calcium carbonate components (shell hash, etc). However, there are huge interstitial populations in some areas of hundreds of microscopic invertebrates comprising a number of different families/genera per square meter of sediment whose numbers and species diversity are seasonally variable. Yes, there are marine organisms present but unless the entire sample is fixed and stained and the dissecting microscope is used for many hours of tedious taxonomic work, the assumption would have to be that most of these species would be unregulated and it would take several tons of sand to get 100 lbs of interstitial marine organisms. Sand is not regulated by the FWC, however it is regulated by the Department of Environmental Protection (
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/) and removal from the natural environment is a DEP regulatory dredge and fill issue. Please contact the DEP Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems at 850-488-7708 for more information.
For full text rule on Marine Life and what species may be harvested, please visit the Florida Administrative Code online at
http://fac.dos.state.fl.us/faconline/chapter68.pdf and reference Chapter 68B-42 for Marine Life and our web page for Tropicals and Ornamentals at
http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/recharvestmls.htm.
