# collecting your own fish



## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Is it legal to take fish from an ocean in lets say the virgin islands(caribien) and bring them back to the usa? cause i will be taking a trip there and it would be a great opportunety to get some cool fish and corals for my tank. Does anyone know the laws and regulations of that area? could i get some sort of permit or would that be to diffecult? can you harvest lr from the ocean or is the aquarium lr a different kind than the rock in the ocean?
I would plabn or bringin a pre seeded power filter cartrege and a peice of lr with me on the plane, then buy a rubermaid bin when i get there and fill it up with water from the ocean. then i would set it all up and get it ready. I would bring a net and a catch bucet with me every time i go diving and if i see a nice fish or coral i would try to catch it and bring it back. for geting it home i would get some directiongs on how to pack fish as if they were being mailed then i would just bring them on a 6 hour flight home and put them in my tank.
You can just tell me if this is a extremely dumb and ilegal idea and i will forget about it. 
But i was thinking the vergin islands are apart of the us so i was thinking it still may be legal? 
What about lr? who would care if i brought a couple peices of rock home with me?


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

how would you be sure that the conditions in your tank matched the wild conditions of wherever you took the fish from? i'm sure there are some kind of laws protecting fish from being taken from the ocean, but i'm not sure. i mean, you are allowed to fish right? so why not keep them? i just don't know. it's not something I would risk unless I was sure of the laws and a professional at extracting fish from their natural habitats with minimal stress. but that's just me. good luck!

bri


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## usmc121581 (Jul 31, 2006)

trreherd said:


> Is it legal to take fish from an ocean in lets say the virgin islands(caribien) and bring them back to the usa? cause i will be taking a trip there and it would be a great opportunety to get some cool fish and corals for my tank. Does anyone know the laws and regulations of that area? could i get some sort of permit or would that be to diffecult? can you harvest lr from the ocean or is the aquarium lr a different kind than the rock in the ocean?
> I would plabn or bringin a pre seeded power filter cartrege and a peice of lr with me on the plane, then buy a rubermaid bin when i get there and fill it up with water from the ocean. then i would set it all up and get it ready. I would bring a net and a catch bucet with me every time i go diving and if i see a nice fish or coral i would try to catch it and bring it back. for geting it home i would get some directiongs on how to pack fish as if they were being mailed then i would just bring them on a 6 hour flight home and put them in my tank.
> You can just tell me if this is a extremely dumb and ilegal idea and i will forget about it.
> But i was thinking the vergin islands are apart of the us so i was thinking it still may be legal?
> What about lr? who would care if i brought a couple peices of rock home with me?


I knew a guy from they and he told me it was illegal or he would of did it. You would be able to but then getting it though costumes would be the part. I would not recommend doing it anyway.


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Ya. but if i see a nice peice of lr? What the The cosumes guy wouldent know the difference between someone taking a peice of lr home and someone taking a shell.


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## usmc121581 (Jul 31, 2006)

They know alot more then you think.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Taking the shell can prove to be illegal as well. A hand ful of sand fromt he beaches in Hawaii will get you in serious trouble. 

The most glaringly obvious problem is the 3oz liquid rule in effect right now. My girl works for Homeland Security, TSA. She screens people at the airports. No more then 3oz of liquid in sealed conatinaers in a sandwich sized ziplock bag. If you pack it in your suitcase and don't declare it but they search your bags for the fun of it....... Well let's just say it's a good thing you are under 18.....


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

'Tis illegal in my opinion.:wink2: I had some people living in famous beaches such as Boracay telling me that catching fish from the wild is off limits and are protected. 'Tis like poaching. The reason why this is off limits is that wild fish are being protected to prevent decimation of wild populations and even disappearance of the entier population. How some people were able to obtain is just by securing a permit to make sure it is legal for them to obtain fish as long as they abide by the rules and the limit(possibly number of fish) given to them.

Take note that almost all marine species are caught in the wild. Aquarists are frequently accused of abetting the plundering of coral reef; the argument is that, for every fish arriving in our aquaria, almost nine die at the time of capture, during transport or at various stages of handling.

Even obtaining live rocks in the wild will be considered illegal because this is in connection with the decimation of the fish's habitat.:wink2:


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## Gump (Oct 26, 2006)

Its illegal...


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## Melissa (Nov 28, 2006)

Blue said:


> Take note that almost all marine species are caught in the wild. Aquarists are frequently accused of abetting the plundering of coral reef; the argument is that, for every fish arriving in our aquaria, almost nine die at the time of capture, during transport or at various stages of handling.


This is so true Blue. I remember our LFS owner in South Carolina telling us this. It is sad but true. Soon enough I believe that it will even be illegal to captue Saltwater fish for the trade industry. This is why i believe that people should be carefull and take seiously the effects of having a Saltwater tank. There are to many people who think that they are just fish and oh well. But eventually there will be species that are gone and with no return due to the industry. That is why i believe in responsible fish owners.

And the fisherman who go out and catch fish for us to eat are just as responsible. The use sianide which kills the corals.


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## stickaforkinit (Dec 20, 2006)

I just bought AQUACULTURED corals from Liveaquaria.com that are going to be delivered to my house tomorrow!    Each piece is about an inch so they're pretty small but I was willing to buy because they are farmed and HARDIER!

SE-42201 CF - Pink Thick Branch Birdsnest Coral - Aquacultured CCGC 
SE-89228 CF - Acropora Millepora Coral, Nathan's Green - Aquacultured 
SE-89219 CF - Elkhorn Montipora Coral, Green - Aquacultured (ORA) 

But I also bought an anemone that wasn't and I'm feeling guilty now. 

CN-80818 SW - Bulb Anemone Colored Green - Medium


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Wow way too go on the aquacultered coral thing!!  
I would be willling to pay more money if someone Had a lower catch and transit death rate.


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