Justice has been served

[Fishfeeder88]

http://http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/140606-01.html

 

[Kurtl000]

This belongs under the ethical reefing section i think

 

[GreshamH]

Responsible Reefkeeping would be the forum... http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=225

 

[Spyderturbo007]

I think your link is dead. This might be the right one.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/140606-01.html

I'm a little confused by the article. It looks like the only guy that got busted was the one buying the illegal animals and not the company that harvested and sold them. What's up with that?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

[Moved]

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

I'm a little confused by the article. It looks like the only guy that got busted was the one buying the illegal animals and not the company that harvested and sold them. What's up with that?[/QUOTE]

It is Florida.
Anybody with a snorkel can grab this kind of stuff.
He probably harvested them himself.

I have a buddy that used to work for the now defunked Florida Marine Patrol so I know what I can and cannot take.
My uderstanding was that even a bare rock with no rics or anything is $500 per rock regardless of size. Evidently Rics being scarce like they are now makes that figure jump.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

It is Florida.
Anybody with a snorkel can grab this kind of stuff.
He probably harvested them himself.

From the way I'm reading it, he contracted with what they are calling a "marine life supplier" who did the harvesting illegally and then shipped them to the guy that got busted in New York. Nowhere in the article did they say anything about going after the supplier.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

My apologies.
I just gave the article a quick skim. You are correct, the harvester should have been prosecuted as well.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

No worries. It wasn't very well written if you ask me. I would have thought that they would concentrate on the harvester more than the buyer. It's like letting the drug dealer alone and going after the user. Sounds stupid to me.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

That is bureaucracy for you.:beer:

 

[billsreef]

I'm a little confused by the article. It looks like the only guy that got busted was the one buying the illegal animals and not the company that harvested and sold them. What's up with that?

This is just but one small chapter in a much larger story. Hale was caught as part of large scale investigation that not had the supplier convicted, but also part of the investigation that caught Perrin and his manager.

 

[billsreef]

Here's a bit more of the background...

http://www.keysnet.com/2014/04/05/495927/prosecutions-for-illegal-marine.html?sp=/99/106/

 

[Spyderturbo007]

This is just but one small chapter in a much larger story. Hale was caught as part of large scale investigation that not had the supplier convicted, but also part of the investigation that caught Perrin and his manager.

Awesome! I was hoping there was more to the story.

I say, string them all up.

 

[thenewguy997]

Im surprised there was no jail time.

10k is nothing to a business owner, especially one who can afford to pay for illegal species.

 

[Kurtl000]

This is why aquaculture is so important. It's not funny to order 30 boxes of coral and joke about how an entire section of reef in the wild is missing when viewed from above. As far as the sentence, he got two years probation as well. Dunno what's involved with that.

 

[andex23]

it is a good start but a long ways from helpful.

 

[wildman926]

an entire section of reef in the wild is missing when viewed from above.

It will grow back.

 

[Peter Eichler]

Here's a bit more of the background...

http://www.keysnet.com/2014/04/05/495927/prosecutions-for-illegal-marine.html?sp=/99/106/

Really too bad to see Dick Perrin get himself caught up in this... He was pretty influential in the captive propagation of corals (some sps in particular) before it became so popular with the average hobbyist. This is a pretty nasty strike against Tropicorium and Dick.