How to get 10-20 years in prison travelling with corals....

[Sea MunnKey]

Had I started this saltwater hobby back in Borneo, I would probably have collected tons of corals and not because I'm doing it illegally but more from pure ignorance & duhhh ... . The local authorities do not educate or make it known publicly that it's illegal to collect corals or fish regardless. There's actually 392 islands altogether and there's corals all around the downtown & outlying coastal shores. And Borneo is not too far from Indonesia/Bali ... imagine the selection of corals galore ;Drool. Wait ... what the heck am I doing in Canada?

 

[Jay Norris]

What were they thinking??

The same thing that ppl on this forum brag about doing it here in FL or asking if it’s “OK” That’s what!

IMO, anyone who takes as much as a snail from the ocean needs 10-20 years here in the US!

Why, if you have the permits, why can't you collect snails fish, or some of the soft corals you can legally collect in Florida or else where. I hope you are not one of those dummies, who are trying to stop the collection of all marine organisms, around the world, if they are collected in a sustainable way. More Corals, Fish and other Marine Organisms are killed thru pollution then thru sustainable collection ways.

 

[Jay Norris]

Have I thought about it ..... yes, absolutely. Would I actually do it ..... absolutely NOT. Thought about absconding with a bit of stag horn when I was in Florida this past Summer. But I wouldn’t do it because then I’d just be another moron destroying the reefs,

I wouldn't do it because it's against the law, but pollution will kill a lot more Stag or Elk horns then any collector. We need to go after th polluters first.

 

[samnaz]

I feel like cooking the beehive with a long stick right now but I will hold off on it for now

What on Earth does SMH stand for guys? Sorry I don't use bookface or anything, behind in the game I guess...

So Much Hate

 

[Ron Reefman]

Problem is if you do it why should I not be allowed to do it, after 1000 people have done it there is nothing left. There has to be zero tolerance for people taking corals without proper permits and sustainability being practiced.

I'd like to ask that the poll at the start of this thread be revised. I do take coral from the ocean and I don't feel bad about it either. Why? Because I do it legally. The state of Florida allows anybody with a Florida saltwater fishing license to take up to 5 polyps of soft coral or up to 8 colonies of octocoral (Gorgonians) per day. At the same time you are not allowed to take any stony coral (sps or lps) at all. And I only take for my own personal use. I realize that this thread is about ILLEGAL taking of coral. But the overall tone of it gives those of us who do it legally and with a conscience a bad rap!

As for your postulation that if 1000 people did it there would be nothing left... I realize you are trying to make a point. And most people think of stony corals when they think of coral at all. And yes, stony corals are very slow to grow back. However, I have seen a rock just 50 feet off a beach at a small island in the Keys with so many green zoas that if 1000 people a month took the legal 5 polyps per day it would takes many years to clear that one rock if it would even ever be cleared given growth of the remaining population! And there are a dozen more rocks like that within 100 yards of that first rock. And I'd be willing to wager that on average, those rocks off that island get less than one snorkeler per day and 90% of them don't do any collecting!

I think if you extrapolate your zero tolerance idea out to an extreme, we shouldn't be catching or collecting anything from the ocean. But if a coral, like some zoas and most gorgonians can repopulate faster than the LEGAL collection of it, there is nothing wrong with taking it (legally). This is why painting an issue like this with a broad brush is just wrong.

soap box mode (off)

For those who want to know more about legal collecting of anything aquatic from the waters around Florida, come to my thread about snorkeling and collecting. There is a link the my signature just below. BTW, I do some collecting of live critters right off the sand that isn't even under any water at all when I do a beach walk! Check it out!

 

[Jay Norris]

I got busted doing this.
Back in the early 80s/late 90s me, my wife, and our sheltie went to the FL. Keys for a week. I spent the whole week collecting coral. I was pulling a 4'x8' utility trailer full of buckets, that were full of coral, as I tried leaving the Keys. Got pulled over in Key Largo. I almost made it. The police officer didn't know if what I had was legal to possess or not, so he called the game warden. While we waited for the warden to show up, my wife sat on the guard rail, holding our dog. The officer informed us that if I had stuff I was not allowed to, my wife and I were going to jail, my dog would go to the pound, and they would impound the car and trailer and we'd never get them back. So, for 20 minutes, the longest 20 minutes of my life, I stood there on the side of the road, watching my wife hold our dog, cry, and telling me she couldn't go to jail. Not much I could do about it at that point. A pretty helpless feeling. When the warden showed up, he started going through the buckets, pulling stuff out, and saying, "You're not allowed to have this, you're not allowed to have that......" I just knew we were going to jail. I played stupid. Told him I had no idea it was illegal to collect this stuff. That I was just collecting stuff I thought would look good in my aquarium. I think he felt sorry for my wife. She did look pretty sad sitting on that guard rail, hugging our sheltie, with tears running down her face. The warden said, "I'll make a deal with you. If you help me put this stuff back in the water, I'll write you a ticket for fishing without a license and let you go." I started grabbing buckets, and we dumped a whole weeks worth of work back into the ocean.
That was a different world and a different time. This was before the Keys were completely devastated like they are now. Taking this stuff was illegal, but wasn't viewed as the big deal it is today. If it were to happen today, I'd surely go to jail. It's not worth it. After that experience, I make sure to dump the sand out of my shoes before leaving the beach. I ain't taking NOTHING from the ocean!!!!!!!

The moral of my story..... Just don't do it.
Peace
EC

The reason the Keys no longer looks like it did back then is from pollution not you or someone else taking a few Corals If you still dive their, you would hardly recognize the reefs any more, all the pollution has caused an algae explosion, and with the die off the Long Spine Black Sea Urchins, it's only been made a lot worst then back in the day What the Keys needs is a lot less people and quite a few more major hurricanes hitting their.

 

[samnaz]

I wouldn't do it because it's against the law, but pollution will kill a lot more Stag or Elk horns then any collector. We need to go after th polluters first.

Or we could all just not kill the endangered coral. Just cause collectors are doing the same thing as the polluters but on a smaller scale, doesn’t make it okay or right. Why not go after all those who break the law, despite their reasons for doing so? At risk corals need all the help they can get... no time to point fingers

 

[Gil03]

What were they thinking??

The same thing that ppl on this forum brag about doing it here in FL or asking if it’s “OK” That’s what!

IMO, anyone who takes as much as a snail from the ocean needs 10-20 years here in the US!

Yeah let's let the tax payers foot the bill on a 20yr stint in the slammer for taking a snail from the ocean, that makes TOTAL sense right!? smh...

 

[SciGuy2]

Who here hasn't had coral fever?

 

[Graffiti Spot]

That's HILARIOUS!!! Ironic that the PI government will nail this guy while allowing indiscriminate dynamite fishing and live coral removal and acid bleaching for tourism and export by the locals without even a slap on the wrist. What a joke. Nice PR stunt by the PI government.

Well said!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

So Much Hate

Thanks! At first I thought you were saying I had so much hate... Thanks.

 

[Briansaltwater]

Stupid to have in your own bags!! FedEx will ship it to0 the us 2day and I bet is easy to put phony info as sender...

 

[samnaz]

Stupid to have in your own bags!! FedEx will ship it to0 the us 2day and I bet is easy to put phony info as sender...

Lol srsly?

 

[ReeferBean]

So Much Hate

It means Shakes My Head.

 

[Ferrell]

Oh, we busted this fella for stealing our coral? Let's just let it dry out on this table before we put it in a box as evidence...

You'd think they would at least have a tub of water to hold it all in.

Can’t get a good photo op in a tub

 

[dylana407]

Can’t get a good photo op in a tub

Ms. December will prove you wrong.

 

[ca1ore]

I wouldn't do it because it's against the law, but pollution will kill a lot more Stag or Elk horns then any collector. We need to go after th polluters first.

I don’t doubt that pollution is a problem, probably the underlying reason for all the red algae problems; but the enemy of stag and elk horn corals has been high temperatures causing bleaching and white band disease problems.

 

[KenO]

If he had paid the overweight fee for heavy bags he would have made it.

Seriously, illegally taking corals, plants, animals, etc occurs because people will pay and not ask where they came from.

Where I live in AZ, we have open space laws to protect the desert and the plants and animals that live in it. I own 1 1/3 acres of land, and 2/3rds of it is designated as open space. When we decided to build, I had to have someone come in and do a plant survey to designate which plants within the building zone needed to be saved. There were smaller cacti and plants that the city didn’t care about. Once the larger plants were moved or protected from construction, I went in and saved the smaller cacti and plants. After the House was finished I replanted the cacti and plants into my landscape and the disturbed areas. In the open spaces, I can remove invasive plants, otherwise it needs to be left alone. I get to watch all types of wild animals and plants from my patio. If we don’t protect our wild spaces, whether on land or under the sea, it will be a sad future.

 

[Thesupa79]

What were they thinking??

The same thing that ppl on this forum brag about doing it here in FL or asking if it’s “OK” That’s what!

IMO, anyone who takes as much as a snail from the ocean needs 10-20 years here in the US!

I bet your a joy to hang out with!

 

[sfin52]

I'd like to ask that the poll at the start of this thread be revised. I do take coral from the ocean and I don't feel bad about it either. Why? Because I do it legally. The state of Florida allows anybody with a Florida saltwater fishing license to take up to 5 polyps of soft coral or up to 8 colonies of octocoral (Gorgonians) per day. At the same time you are not allowed to take any stony coral (sps or lps) at all. And I only take for my own personal use. I realize that this thread is about ILLEGAL taking of coral. But the overall tone of it gives those of us who do it legally and with a conscience a bad rap!

As for your postulation that if 1000 people did it there would be nothing left... I realize you are trying to make a point. And most people think of stony corals when they think of coral at all. And yes, stony corals are very slow to grow back. However, I have seen a rock just 50 feet off a beach at a small island in the Keys with so many green zoas that if 1000 people a month took the legal 5 polyps per day it would takes many years to clear that one rock if it would even ever be cleared given growth of the remaining population! And there are a dozen more rocks like that within 100 yards of that first rock. And I'd be willing to wager that on average, those rocks off that island get less than one snorkeler per day and 90% of them don't do any collecting!

I think if you extrapolate your zero tolerance idea out to an extreme, we shouldn't be catching or collecting anything from the ocean. But if a coral, like some zoas and most gorgonians can repopulate faster than the LEGAL collection of it, there is nothing wrong with taking it (legally). This is why painting an issue like this with a broad brush is just wrong.

soap box mode (off)

For those who want to know more about legal collecting of anything aquatic from the waters around Florida, come to my thread about snorkeling and collecting. There is a link the my signature just below. BTW, I do some collecting of live critters right off the sand that isn't even under any water at all when I do a beach walk! Check it out!

Link please