Collecting Seahorses

[DanU]

In Florida the rules for ornamental fish collecting are pretty straightforward, and downloadable.

I agree. Apparently the Fish & Wildlife folks aren't fully up to speed on them though. Take a copy with you! I know of cases where they have made individuals release the seahorses. Seahorses are restricted and restricted species have a total aggregate bag limit of 20. It is legal to collect seahorses if you have a saltwater recreational fishing licenses. Some F&W officers get restricted confused with not collectable.

Dan

 

[TamiW]

Dan, good to know. I read up on the regulations, but didn't think it might be necessary to have the regulations on hand. I guess its better to be safe than sorry.

Agilis, any other kinds of nets a good idea? I was thinking a hand net of some sort for sweeping through grasses and algae. I've also been told to look for inlet type areas where the water is broken up and a bit calmer.

 

[agilis]

nets

nets

There are "push nets", which are really just nets with a large frame that one person can manipulate by pushing (or pulling) them through a weedy spot. A simple version can easily be made by getting the largest fish landing net available, removing the coarse netting and replacing in with finer 1/4 inch stuff, also fashioning a deeper two or three foot pocket. You can use a cheap seine as a source for the netting, especially if you don't have much lead time, or buy all the materials you could possibly need from a place like Aquatic Eco-Systems in Apopka, Fl. They are huge operation serving commercial fish farmers, etc., and they are on the internet.