Illegal harvest

[toddmau5]

So today I saw faois post this article. http://keysnews.com/node/56010
And it brought a little confusion to me. It states they violated the lacey act " which makes it a federal offense to import, export, transport, sell or purchase in interstate commerce any wildlife protected at the state level."
Now, not trying to say they guys in the article aren't guilty, or that they shouldn't be in trouble, just trying to clarify, so that I don't end up in the pokey with FWC's recent escapades. To my knowledge ricordia florida are corallimorphs, and in being classified as such are legal for harvest in the state of Florida with as little as a recreational fishing license (limit 5 polyps per day) http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/aquarium-species/
So my question is, which part does the law specify what the protected specie is? Are the classifying the live rock(which is prohibited from harvest) the ricordea were attached to as a protected spiece? Was it simply the fact that they were harvested in a marine sanctuary that then classifies the whole lot as "protected" or was it simply that they violated the bag limit? I would assume with the proper licensing the commercial bag limit probably increases, otherwise I would assume every shipment of rics the lfs' get in are illegal. Again, not saying they're not guilty or they shouldn't be punished to the full extent, the article just got my brain thinking a little bit. I do agree as part of the hobby we all need to do everything we can to protect the species we love to collect and ensure that their natural habitats are unarmed. I'm coming back from Texas with a bunch of sps frags, am I at risk now for transporting protected species across state lines?

 

[viper12775]

I could be wrong it happens a lot according to my other half but I thought ricordia were protected and illegal to harvest

 

[viper12775]

or they changed the bag limit I can't remember lol

 

[toddmau5]

According to that list from fwc, they aren't prohibited. Just says 5 polyps per day must be harvested with a flat blade

 

[ichthyman]

Combination

First, location. All parties were aware the collection was occuring within a protected area.

"Various closed areas exist. See regulations for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, national wildlife refuges and Florida's State Parks before collecting in these areas."

Second, the targeted species was not collected as per regulation. The Ricordea was collected with rock.

"Corallimorphs and Zoanthids: No more than 5 single polyps of each may be landed per person per day, must be harvested with a flexible blade no wider than 2" such as a putty knife, razor blade, or paint scraper."

"Live Rock: Recreational harvest prohibited (includes rock made by sabellarid tubeworms)"

Simple, don't collect in marine sanctuary and follow the regulations on how and what can be collected.

 

[TampaSnooker]

John's absolutely right about why they got in trouble - collection location and method. Also, it is illegal to sell recreationally harvested polyps from Florida in any way. You must have a collectors permit and file trip tickets to report your catch to FWC prior to sale.

Commercial collectors are allowed 100 polyps per permit per day. Recreational collectors are allowed 5, as stated. Same rules apply with regards to substrate but FWC has become slightly more lenient with enforcement, however if collecting recreationally with a semi flexible blade, I would err on the side of caution. Clam shells, however are fair game, so look for the easy target! Several years back, FEC wasn't allowing ANY substrate, which resulted in mass mortality and poor survivability. The collectors were able to demonstrate that most polyps survived with their feet still attached, so they started allowing rock chips. From personal commentary with a licensed collector I know, they don't hassle him about anything with under 1/4" of substrate attached to the foot.

Many dealers try to circumvent illegally collected Rics by marketing them as Haitian once they are safely landed, but to my understanding, it's been many years since there was a CITES for Haitian Rics, so if you're buying a colony of same color morph on the same rock, it's likely poached, unless someone glued them to a rock, which should be easy enough to tell. FWC can and does test the rock for it's composition. Even FL limestone has distinct chemistry up and down the coast, so they know if the Ric is growing on Keys / Miami rock or if someone glued it onto rock from elsewhere.

 

[toddmau5]

OK, that's what I was wondering. The Lacy act seemed to have a very broad range it could have covered. At first I was confused because I could have sworn Ricordea were legal to collect. I assumed it was because they collected from a sanctuary. I guess the bag limit wouldn't have been an issue, I assumed with the proper licensing that the bag limit would increase. It does leave a pretty nasty taste in my mouth that they willingly collected from a marine sanctuary.

 

[G_Sanab922]

Must use flexible blade less than 2inches in width.
http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/aquarium-species/
here are the recreational laws.
Tbh, I've done research on collecting and it's pretty complicated. The best answers I've got was from emailing the FWC directly. The only thing I've collected so far was a sargassum shrimp. really though, i'm very hesitant when it comes to collecting, the fines are crazy. Especially since I've seen them in court first hand as a jury down here.

The guys in the article knew what they were doing was illegal. I remember reading this in the newpaper

on regards to your transportation statement, it shouldn't be a federal offense because it wasn't illegally harvested. Even though it's protected. But "technically" they can make a case out of it. This is still really considered a gray area in the hobby.
Check out the thread in the ORCA club thread. There's a recently long discussion all about it. Catering more to the regular hobbyist.

 

[G_Sanab922]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2417810