Going to Florida

F

Futurecanadian

New member
Hey guys,

I am going to Passa Grille for a week @ the end of the month and was thinking that since I am driving I could technically bring home goodies, granted I have no clue on hte legal aspect of this tricky endeavor. Has anyone ever done this? What did you bring home? Any tips on how to make this a fun success?

Thanks,

shawn
 
realistically anything you brought back wouldn't make it to Cleveland alive either; that is unless you flew and no airline is going to let you bring animals or corals on a plane.
 
Is it so bad to want a sea turtle? LOL kidding... all is settled. IT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING. I was just curious... who knew it was such a taboo? I know now! thanks guys.
 
Well i took a sea urchin home from myrtle beach and it is still thriving in my tank. It will be a year on August since I have had it. One day we where coming down for lunch and a guy had it sitting on his blanket and I Asked him if it i was a sea urchin and he sayed yes. Well right when he was going to put it back into the water I ran down with a bucket and took it off his hands. And have had it ever since.
 
you can take plenty home with, and i brought my whole setup home from florida with no deaths. you can find some small fish easily in the tide pools, lots of inverts. snails are the easiest. just find a jetty, the rock will be loaded. if you do go diving you can collect soft coral, just don't collect it attached to any rock. rock is the big no no in Florida. if you do find some stuff put in a cooler and try to get some flow. Orlando has some great LFS, that you should try to stop at.
 
Since there are huge Federal fines that go along with harvesting off the reefs in South Fla, the legal term is poaching, I would not recommend taking any corals if you dive. Leave the reef at the reef for others to come and enjoy.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/threats.htm

Moving a setup from Florida to Ohio isn't necessarily easy, kudos to you for that. But, I don't think taking anything live from any of the reefs is a good idea and certainly shouldn't be encouraged.

/Fla Lawyer.
 
We went to the Keys in March of 2008 and went collecting…tons of fun. There is a very specific list of items you can harvest with a regular Florida fishing license (no license required if less than 17). There are daily limits. No hard corals, no live rock but you can collect many fish, anemones, snails, crabs, gorgonians, some soft corals, etc.. My daughter's friend caught a 10" blue spotted boxfish…in an 8" net!!!! We released it, of course. Rock flipping was tons of fun, just be sure to put the rocks back as you found them before you walk away as the critters depend on them for shelter. We bagged it up and brougt it home in a cooler…some people use an airstone in a cooler of water. Just be certain to collect right before you leave if at all feasible and OBEY THE LAWS.

We also visited an online retailer while there and brought some things back that we purchased as well.
 
Like Norm, I've collected in FL in the past which was a lot of fun. If you dive with a charter, you used to be able to collect under the umbrella of their license. Not sure if thats still the case. Although it sounds trivial, I highly recommend you get the proper license as FL Fish and Wildlife takes it very serious because several commercial outfits try to pass as amateurs.

To keep things living, you will want to bring plenty battery powered air pumps. Another wise move is to bring salt mix and bring it home in clean SW. IME, natural sea water has a lot of plankton that can die off en route which can foul the water.

Just make sure you don't get pulled over and have to explain the giant bag of white powder, lol!
 
Thanks guys. I would never rob a reef ! I would however catch a random snail or crab and not feel too guilty. Who knows. I really am not a law breaker though and wouldnt want to cause any unrest.

I also would have no clue on where to buy battery operated air pumps and such... hint hint lol... mostly kidding.
 
You can get the battery operated pumps at most stores that sell fishing tackle/gear…Meijer, Dick's sporting goods…maybe even WalMart.

As long as you get a fishing license (WalMart sells them down there) and obey the collection limits and species list, you will be fine. Tons of fun. We had two teenage girls with us who were dreading it and had a blast once we started. I would suggest going light on the livestock you bring back the first time until you get the process down.
 
Thanks. I wil research the stocking list and licensure info. I am down for the excitement of doing this on my last morning in FL as long as I am not breaking any laws. Does anyone have any idea of what I might find in the St. Petersburg/Pass-a-Grille area?
 
just get a plug in power inverter im sure you allready have the pumps that way you can run heat to if needed
 
Thanks... its a 17 hour drive home. Here is the game plan.

Buy a fishing license last weekend there

Last Full Day start collecting ( I will be using 5g buckets and running a powerhead, heater, and air. Also using the ocean water)

I will then transport items home in a 17 hour straight drive with out any pumps, or heat. (Items ship for 24 hours in less water and do fine)

I will then empty 2/3 of the ocean water and drip acclimate the buckets with my aquarium water for several hours.

Does anyone see any holes in my plan and or have advice on how to modify this plan for maximum success? Thanks.
 
I would not use ocean water to transport them. IME, it has a tendency to foul a lot sooner than mixed SW.

Using pumps and heaters will avoid a lot more die off. If you are going to do without, make sure to individually bag everything you bring back. It only takes 1 death to spoil the entire bunch...
 
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