Does anyone catch their own fish?

[Just say n2o]

Living in Florida it is not unusual to snorkel in the southern part of the state and see any number of tropical fish that seem like they would be great tank specimens. On our recent trip to Sebastian (about an hour south from us) we saw angels, damsels and tangs. Reviewing the FWC regulations it would seem by and large they are legal for harvest with the obvious bag and size limits. Understanding quarantine would be imperative what other gotchas can be foreseen in capturing wild fish for housing in a DT?

 

[happyhourhero]

I have 2 blennies and a goby in my tank that I caught. One blenny is great, one eats hydroids, aiptasia and will nip on acans and sps but i have not seen any ill effects from this although when I was watching it happen the corals were not pleased. That blenny also eats some hair algae. The goby is ok. Kind of a bully and will eat anything it can but I like it. I had a filefish for a while but it started eating snails. I have found the wild caught species to be WAY cleaner and hardier than storebought fish. The ones I have are not really from a reef so to be living in my tank has to be pretty strange for them.

 

[eatbreakfast]

During the end of summer tropicals come up the coast and can be collected off of Long Island. I haven't tried to catch anything yet, but I know a few that have collected various butterflies.

 

[redfishbluefish]

With my ignorance of Florida law....I believe Florida has restrictions on taking any fish/corals out of the water....without permits.

And similar to the Long Island post above....I've heard of people catching tropicals in the inlets of New Jersey and putting them in their tanks.

 

[happyhourhero]

In Florida, you just have to have a regular saltwater fishing license to collect and be aware of any restricted species, collection methods and other species specific regulations.

 

[Rjramos]

Said with great ignorance....I believe Florida has restrictions on taking any fish/corals out of the water....without permits.

And similar to the Long Island post above....I've heard of people catching tropicals in the inlets of New Jersey and putting them in their tanks.

Your wrong. All you need is a fishing license and abide by FFWC's regulations on size and bag limit. Your even allowed corallimorphs(aka mushroom, ricordias), zooanthids, and octocorals which include brown star polyp. Nothing that creates a coral skeleton though.

 

[Rjramos]

Here's the page on marine life regulations.

 

[RMS18]

Really these fish can be caught in Jersey and Long island? Isn't the water to cold? I live in at the Jersey shore and never would have thought this... :confused:

 

[happyhourhero]

Yeah the gulf stream will push them up there sometimes. It is my understanding that they do not survive the winter.

 

[RMS18]

Yeah the gulf stream will push them up there sometimes. It is my understanding that they do not survive the winter.

Then we should save them all!! I'm going snorkeling be back

 

[FL_Reefer]

:)Thank you mods, I saw what you did there

 

[Just say n2o]

Yes - thank you mods. Though you seem to have forgotten the unnecessary attack above.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Yes - thank you mods. Though you seem to have forgotten the unnecessary attack above.

There was no attack above. What was written was taken out of context. That member was just stating that he does not know the exact laws for Florida. He was just warning you and others that there could be stiff penalties. Redfishbluefish was not calling you ignorant, but was referring to their ignorance of Florida laws.

 

[Just say n2o]

After reading again I could see that interpretation as well, and honestly that interpretation seems to align much better with my previous experience with this board.

Again thanks all for the dialogue. I will keep you posted of what comes of this adventure.

 

[Rjramos]

Anyways... And back on the subject.[emoji4] You can always go on fwc website and find out more including license fees. I have collected for my own aquariums for years here in south Florida. At one point, I had a Queen, a French, and a Rock Beauty Angel all in 1 55gal. Nowadays ,I still collect but have stayed away from the Angels and tangs. I mostly pick up gobies, wrasses, other small species, and the allowed invertebrates, corals, etc. I do have a small quarantine tank running all the time and place everything in there for a week. It adds a special element to this wonderful hobby. I will say, it takes practice and the right equipment to net catch tropical fish![emoji4]

 

[chelltom]

Interesting thread never knew harvesting like this was allowed does anyone know anything about the regulations on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast ? Thanks

 

[redfishbluefish]

There was no attack above. What was written was taken out of context. That member was just stating that he does not know the exact laws for Florida. He was just warning you and others that there could be stiff penalties. Redfishbluefish was not calling you ignorant, but was referring to their ignorance of Florida laws.

What did I miss? If it's my post above, I was referring to myself being ignorant of Florida law.....never directed at anyone other then me. Again, I apologize if it was misinterpreted. Sorry.

 

[jsker]

soo no dynamite then to harvest?:D

 

[Just say n2o]

What did I miss? If it's my post above, I was referring to myself being ignorant of Florida law.....never directed at anyone other then me. Again, I apologize if it was misinterpreted. Sorry.

Paul was a decent enough guy to shoot me a PM and apologize for an issue that was all mine, and not his. Again my apologies to the board for an over-reaction to a non-issue.

 

[johnny5]

It's correct that salt specimens come up to Long Island through the Gulf Stream. We've netted numerous angels, lion fish and others while obtaining spearing for bait. In Shinnecock where we currently fish from they swim around the marina.