wild gorgonia 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

 

[edwing206]

nice find, good luck with them

 

[Treeman]

Here you go.
Just put [ img] in front and [ /img] behind the address.(but with no spaces)

 

[bckane]

Ryanqk this should help you post pictures.....
http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/lesson09/reefcentral_3.html
Brian

 

[lessthanlights]

is it legal to collect items from the beach in fl? i'm not accusing or condemning . . . . just want to know. last time i was in fl there where more fighting conchs on the beach than i could count-maybe i'll take a few home with me next time.

 

[jeffbrig]

With a FL saltwater fishing license, you can collect certain things. There are many strict rules that you are required to follow - collection limits, protected species, etc.

However, if you're in a protected area (for example, many areas in the keys are a marine sanctuary) all of those rules get tossed out the window.

 

[lessthanlights]

Just looked up Florida rules and regulations for harvesting marine species- I am definitely getting a fishing license next time I'm down just for when I go scuba diving!

http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/recharvestmls.htm

On a side note Gorgonia are a prohibited species.

 

[Mike4284m]

Gorgonia sp. as a genus is prohibited. Those pictured above are not within this genus.

 

[Ryanqk]

yeah i figured its perfectly legal when they are small fragments torn off the reef due to storms, and collected at the beach before being washed ashore. Its not like i'm collecting something that would have lived if i left it, being only about 10-20ft out from the shore. The fat stalk's polyps were open HUGE this morning the whole thing was big and puffy with polyps. So even if they were a restricted species i doubt i would get in trouble under those circumstances.

 

[ninjamini]

Lets see a puffy picture.

 

[Ryanqk]

will do, when i get home from work hopefully itll still be out and exhibiting great PE like this morning, and ill post a new pic. I think this one is actually a "corky sea finger" does that sound right?

 

[Ludwigia73]

Hey guys, the argument "it was gonna die if I didn't take it" don't fly with officers. I've caught 19" grouper that were gut hooked and bleeding extremely badly that were destined to die (I've since switched to circle hooks) and still have to release it to become part of the "lower" food chain. Feed the crabs and sharks, so to speak. I do believe those particular gorgonians are legal, the sea fans in particular are illegal. Even if you found a sea fan in a foot of water broken off and got caught with it, it's illegal. I've been proven wrong a few times on rules and regulations, that's why I just don't take stuff for the most part, but this I'm pretty sure of. I'm sure most of you have seen my posts about recreational take... I'm not going to become part of the problem. I was part of the problem when I was a teenager, and now I see how Broward's reefs have declined. It's fun to collect, but take only the bare minimum. I salute Ryan for taking the broken off pieces only, and I hope they do well for him.

 

[Ryanqk]

thanks ludwigia, i would of course never knowingly take anything illegal, in fact i saw some really nice pieces of sea fans washed up but knew its illegal to possess them. Officers patroling the beach actually drove up within 10ft of my collection bucket while i was there, and I'm sure they would have said something if i was doing anything wrong. My intention with this is to simply grow these pieces becuase i'd never want to see them just get washed up and rot. Much better to try to preserve pieces of the reef that you can save than just let all the debris go to waste in my opinion. Corky sea finger and other "gorgonian - like" brached coral are both still doing well and show excellent polyp extension. If you look in some of my pictures you may see a thin branched coral that almost looks like a simple core of gorgonian, but it too was salvaged from the beach on the other coast, crammed in a water bottle and brought back home. It has very small white polyps (i assume non-photosynthetic) and has grown well over the past 8 months i'm happy to say i saved that piece and propagated it, and even if it was illegal i dont regret saving something from the sea that would have died without my help.
Ryan

 

[lessthanlights]

posted a relevant question to this thread in a new thread- about collecting corals

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=975414