Ok. So here is the update I have after meeting with the FDACS inspector today.
The FWC and FDACS are two separate agencies with their own regulations. They do however, work alongside one another.
FDACS does not perform "stings" nor do they police hobbyists or issue fines or citations. The FWC does.
FDACS exists to help hobbyists such as yourself comply with the state laws. This is why they offer the AQ certification.
The paper trail requirements are set forth by the FWC, not FDACS. However, this seems to be open to interpretation since it is, and I quote "unreasonable" to expect everyone to maintain a paper trail from point of origin. The FWC states the following: All persons engaging in aquaculture are required to obtain the certificate. Aquaculture products include: fish, shellfish, amphibians, reptiles, sponges, and corals. The certificate number is required to be on all aquaculture products from harvest to point of sale.
The gray area here is that this requirement
may imply from the harvest to the point of sale of the
distributor/wholesaler. However, they will get back to me with clarification shortly.
The FWC isn't out to bust small time sales in the hobby, though it's not impossible that it COULD happen. Most of the people they reprimand are people who have been continuously selling or selling large amounts of livestock. In most cases, as I suspected, there is more to the story than what we know or are told. However, it is ALSO possible that given the lack of definition versus the FWC's intentions, that the individual officer perceives their intentions and laws differently. And in SOME cases may make a mistake in using their authority over-excessively or unjustly.
It is not that this may be intentional, but because this hobby is evolving so rapidly that the rules cannot keep up with the evolution. They do not want to make the hobby miserable for everyone, but they do want them to play by the rules.
If I understood correctly, you do not have to let a FWC agent into your home. And if there is a problem, and you have an AQ certificate, you can immediately contact your local agent to rectify the issue. But RARELY, if at all, does an AQ holder receive a citation or fine, even by the FWC. It would have to be something extreme.
The FWC
cannot confiscate livestock from your tank unless it is strictly forbidden to keep or on the endangered list. So if any such incident has occurred, either someone is not being truthful, the story has been embellished, or the officer did the wrong thing. If the latter, that person needs to contact the FWC and/or FDACS.
As for the AQ certification, you SHOULD however keep track of your inventory and transactions. And transactions between two AQ holders definitely needs to be documented.
The AQ does NOT allow you to purchase frags and immediately resell them since that does not fall under "aquaculture". The frag should be cultured and then sold. To sell otherwise requires a different license.
Question time:
You could flat out ask her what happens to a hobbyist that sells a few frags a year, when FWC shows up and sees that they don't have a dedicated frag system and are only selling things that grow and encroach on other corals in the tank? Also what if you have a fish that isn't getting along or has outgrown a tank? ( I heard of a woman getting a warning because she was selling her tang that outgrew her 4' tank) Same thing with coral...selling a coral because you would rather keep a fish that eats it.
A dedicated frag tank is not a prerequisite for a certification. Any aquarium will do. The safe answer to ridding yourself to encroaching corals or problematic fish is to give them to a LFS.
Also what do they want hobbyists to do? Buy all their coral from stores that get 99% of their inventory directly from the ocean?
The majority of stores purchase aquacultured corals.
A good lawyer should be able to reasonably argue that FWC shouldn't even have jurisdiction over this since they only legally have jurisdiction over Florida wildlife, ie; fishing, shrimping, collecting in Florida waters. If a certain species of fish or coral only exists in the Red Sea, FWC doesn't have any control over collection of it, and they shouldn't have any control over it's sale in the U.S.
Now that being said, I wouldn't want to try that argument knowing how the government works.
This is a debate that I am not willing to endure. I suspect that they do for the same reasons that the Fed prohibits importation of foods and animals from a trip. This is likely the reason there is an infestation with Lionfish destroying our reefs.
So how much is this going to cost to sell or trade a frag once or twice a year because the coral is growing to big for the tank....or would it be better to just throw the coral/ animal in the trash so i don`t have to pay a fee....
They would rather you not throw them away. However, depending on your point, why would you sell one or two frags per year? If it is to trim back, for instance an encroaching coral, you can simply give it away or to a LFS. If you intention is to make $, how much is one or two frags going to get you?
The license is either $75 or $100 per year, and is for one physical location. This does not nclude any licenses that may be needed for city/county, or anything the IRS may want.
Because the AQ cert is agricultural, it exempts you from needing any other license (for aquaculture sales, coral and fish alike). It also exempts you from additional licensing through the FWC and is stated on the FWC website. IRS is only necessary if you are selling as a business to profit.
What about trading or giving away frags that aren't for sale?
What's the purpose in doing this besides generating more revenue?
Giving away is fine, but the FWC sees trading as bartering. However, as explained to me, not easy to enforce, nor are they interested in small time trades.
The FWC is trying to adjust their rules as to not make it miserable for the hobbyists, but this is going to take time. They want a better understanding of the hobby and it's enthusiasts as much as you do them. They appear to be proactive lately with getting together with regional clubs.
At the end of the day, the AQ cert is $100. In my opinion, it's no secret that this is not an inexpensive hobby. So to spend the $100 to keep it safe if you are a seller is not a big deal. Especially after you just dropped $100 on a 1/2" frag. At some point you have to justify it. Are we so greedy to purchase the latest greatest thing on the market to ignore something that could keep us safe as a hobbyists who sell occasionally? That's a question for you to answer to yourself.
Hope this helps some of you! I have more information, but didn't want to flood the post any more than I have.
good night. BTW, if you don't know how to enforce the "intent" of the law, you shouldn't be doing it.:dance:
