wild florida gorgonian frags!

[Ryanqk]

I went snorkeling the other day out at dania beach and there was alot of stuff washing in that was ripped up by the storms last week. Most of it was purple tube sponge but i happened to find a couple battered branches of gorgonia (the photosynthetic types) near shore, so of course i brought them home and mounted them to see if i can save em. Polyps are coming out nicely so far. I posted pictures of them in my gallery. they are the first three pictures, i couldnt figure out how to post them directly on this thread. One is a big single rod with lots of big polyps all over, the other is a delicate thin branched type with purplish skin and yellow polyps. Let me know what yall think and if you know what variety they are.
Ryan

 

[Testhead1313]

The thick ones covered in purple flesh appear to be"corky seafingers", (Briareum sp.) - not a true gorgonian as it's more likely a gorg. parasite, but a cool coral nonetheless. I had some that grew very well for me.

 

[Ryanqk]

how would it be parasitic to gorgonians? i have several types of gorgonians dont want them to die.....

 

[psychodave]

wow, nice find! I hope they survive!

 

[Ryanqk]

thanks they seem to be doing great. very nice PE. does anyone know how these could be parasitic?

 

[sunfishh]

Lets see those pics

 

[bitis316]

Some are indangered, and are extremly illegal to have in your possesion in the state of florida......Be very careful on what you have and who you show....

 

[Hormigaquatica]

I dont know that I would describe Briarium as "parasitic" but it can be a very fast growing coral that just smothers anyone in its path. That being said- Im fairly sure none of those are encrusting Briarium; many photosynthetic gorgonians from the caribbean have a look and color to them similar to the purpleish ones youve got. Briarium is encrusting too- if thats what it was, then you would see the bottom of the rod covered first, and that appears to be bare. Its also unlikely that the coverage around the rod would be so uniform and smooth. Now, as far as what variety they Are- I dont know... lol.
I wouldnt be too concerned about them being endangered either; after a storm gorgonians can wash up on the shore by the hundreds if not thousands; there is no reason you cant collect any broken pieces you may find floating about. Im not aware of any Gorgonian species from US waters that are CITES protected (if you dont include Black Corals)

 

[Ryanqk]

I'd point out these particular species are not illegal to collect in florida, they are not a restricted species. I did some research on them too. The reason the bottom is a bit bare is from the mounting process. I used the method from RK mag on fragging gorgonians, which says to cut some of the live tissue from the base. Some beach patrol officers rode up within 10ft or so of my collection bucket so im sure if there was a problem they would have said something, being a 100ft or so from a state park. ive posted a few new pics in my gallery, just wasnt able to put them directly on this thread (RC didnt like the file type i guess)
Ryan

 

[bitis316]

There are several species from the keys that are endangered, and therefor illegall to have...I dought they came all the up to hollywood,,,, but, I was just looking out for ya man....My family gets hounded all of the time....

 

[fishnut321]

from what i heard, corals cannot be collected if attached. But i dont think you will have any trouble if you collect them off the beach. If you think about it, probably alot of stuff that gets washed up after storms ends up a dead skeleton either on the beach or on some tourist's book shelf. You may be breaking laws, but imho what is doomed is fair game

 

[bitis316]

Yes but can you prove that you collected it on the beach and not off shore.....That's what the law will say....But if they are not indangered then you have nothing to worry about.....

 

[Ryanqk]

I honestly think the law doesnt care about broken off pieces like the ones that were washing in, they came within 10ft of the clear bucket and kept on going, therefore i'm pretty sure Im in the clear on this one. And yes i could prove it becuase the lifeguard nearby could see how far out i went, not even half the way to the reef's edge (visibility sucked so i wasnt going that far esp with no dive flag) I'm sure if i was doing somthing wrong i'd have been told.

 

[RicksReefs]

tough to ID your gorgs without a good close up of the polyps.

only Gorgonia flabellum and Gorgonia ventalina (purple seafans) are illegal to collect. there is no way to prove where you got the stuff, whether from a reef, washed up on the beach, or in a parking lot. 'the law' will say possession is illegal, no matter where you are. enforcment is another matter entirely and is dependant on the officer's mood that day.

 

[Ryanqk]

trying to get a better shot for id purposes...