We Can Still Buy Live Rock From Australia ?

[427HISS]

I thought is was illegal to sell live rock from the ocean, but this company is. And I also thought that most of the Great Barrier Reef is dead, for the most part ?

"Australian Ultra Supreme Live Rock. This Live rock is imported from Australia,....... Straight from the ocean to your tank.''

Australian Ultra Supreme Live Rock

Australian Ultra Supreme Live RockThis is our newest rock. saltwater live rock from Australia. It is very colorful and has good coralline algae growth.

www.liverocknreef.com

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I thought is was illegal to sell live rock from the ocean, but this company is. And I also thought that most of the Great Barrier Reef is dead, for the most part ?

"Australian Ultra Supreme Live Rock. This Live rock is imported from Australia,....... Straight from the ocean to your tank.''

Australian Ultra Supreme Live Rock

Australian Ultra Supreme Live RockThis is our newest rock. saltwater live rock from Australia. It is very colorful and has good coralline algae growth.

www.liverocknreef.com

For the most part, it is illegal, but apparently at least one company has gone through the legal channels and now has permission to sell it legally (see the quote below). The Great Barrier Reef being mostly dead has been a topic of some controversy, but let's just say it may or may not be doing better than expected right now.

You know my Importer questioned the Australian origin story as well, but now I get tranship lists from him with Australian live rock with cites permits included.

Great Barrier Reef news

Yep. https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2022/08/04/australias-great-barrier-reef-defies-doomsayers-with-record-coral-growth/

www.reef2reef.com

Great Barrier Reef records highest hard coral cover in 36 years

The Australian Institute of Marine Science has reported a 36-year coral coverage high across the Great Barrier Reef for 2021/22. The greatest coverage increases were reported in the North and Central regions of the GBR, which is in direct contrast as they have also been the regions worst...

www.reef2reef.com

The Great Barrier Reef makes a comeback

Some good news for a change

www.reef2reef.com

Great Barrier reef dying....or is it?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It is HIGHLY restricted with strict quotas on collection by weight so not sure if they actually expend much of their quota on collecting rock from where you would hope it comes from vs collecting wild corals instead to fill their quota limit

 

[PeterEde]

It cost me $30 per kilo and I live in Australia
Imagine the cost of Aussie LR after freight to US?
It's $35 up to 5kg just for postage

 

[PeterEde]

For the most part, it is illegal, but apparently at least one company has gone through the legal channels and now has permission to sell it legally (see the quote below). The Great Barrier Reef being mostly dead has been a topic of some controversy, but let's just say it may or may not be doing better than expected right now.

Great Barrier Reef news

Yep. https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2022/08/04/australias-great-barrier-reef-defies-doomsayers-with-record-coral-growth/

www.reef2reef.com

Great Barrier Reef records highest hard coral cover in 36 years

The Australian Institute of Marine Science has reported a 36-year coral coverage high across the Great Barrier Reef for 2021/22. The greatest coverage increases were reported in the North and Central regions of the GBR, which is in direct contrast as they have also been the regions worst...

www.reef2reef.com

The Great Barrier Reef makes a comeback

Some good news for a change

www.reef2reef.com

Great Barrier reef dying....or is it?

www.reef2reef.com

Latest reports are the GBR is doing the best it's has in 50 years. Across all reported area coral growth is at 50 year highs.

 

[xarkaden]

My thoughts are they drop rock into the ocean, let it cook, and then pick it.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

My thoughts are they drop rock into the ocean, let it cook, and then pick it.

The company that most likely collects the rock collects wild corals with a hammer and chisel so it's probably really from the ocean not maricultured (the area it's taken from is debatable though)

 

[xarkaden]

The company that most likely collects the rock collects wild corals with a hammer and chisel so it's probably really from the ocean not maricultured (the area it's taken from is debatable though)

That’s pretty foul by todays conservation standards. What a shame.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

That’s pretty foul by todays conservation standards. What a shame.

I'm not making speculations here...I say that after seeing a video of the head of the company showing a presentation discussing it while showing a diver using a hammer and chisel to collect coral

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I trust CITES though to make that call what's sustainable

 

[Sump Crab]

My thoughts are they drop rock into the ocean, let it cook, and then pick it.

Definitely not. I ordered some from unique corals and it’s legit ocean rock just like we used to get in the good old days. The maricultured/aquacultured rock is always Marco rock or something similar.

 

[firechild]

That’s pretty foul by todays conservation standards. What a shame.

In the early 2000s, the Australian government threatened to close down all Australian coral fisheries. It certainly sounded like a good conservation decision from the perspective of the average punter, but the industry pushed back and research was done to determine the actual impact of wild collection. The reality is, the entire QLD coral fishery (including rock but excluding fish), takes a tiny fraction of a percentage of new coral growth in a year. So small that the impact of the fishery is negligible and a single storm has thousands of times more impact than the total collection quota. It may seem foul at first look, but the data shows that is it completely sustainable and well managed.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

In the early 2000s, the Australian government threatened to close down all Australian coral fisheries. It certainly sounded like a good conservation decision from the perspective of the average punter, but the industry pushed back and research was done to determine the actual impact of wild collection. The reality is, the entire QLD coral fishery (including rock but excluding fish), takes a tiny fraction of a percentage of new coral growth in a year. So small that the impact of the fishery is negligible and a single storm has thousands of times more impact than the total collection quota. It may seem foul at first look, but the data shows that is it completely sustainable and well managed.

That's the kind of research I trust CITES does which is why if they deem it sustainable enough to be legal I'm ok with it

 

[firechild]

That's the kind of research I trust CITES does which is why if they deem it sustainable enough to be legal I'm ok with it

CITES is a treaty, not an organisation. The research is done and decisions are made by each government who has signed on to the treaty.

 

[131696]

You can get it in USA now liferocknreef something like that right now got email yesterday very high buy you can get it 15lbs 400 dollars.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

CITES is a treaty, not an organisation. The research is done and decisions are made by each government who has signed on to the treaty.

You're correct, I made a mistake in calling it an organization. What I meant was that I support the restrictions imposed by CITES along with the freedoms it gives by way of offering the possibility of obtaining import/export licenses. (I know I'm still not phrasing it perfectly correctly because I just woke up and my brain isn't quite awake yet but I think you know what I'm saying here)

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

If a CITES import/export license that allows for collection can be legally obtained I'm ok with it

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Anything can be done of you put enough money into it.
Sad world we live in
D

 

[xarkaden]

In the early 2000s, the Australian government threatened to close down all Australian coral fisheries. It certainly sounded like a good conservation decision from the perspective of the average punter, but the industry pushed back and research was done to determine the actual impact of wild collection. The reality is, the entire QLD coral fishery (including rock but excluding fish), takes a tiny fraction of a percentage of new coral growth in a year. So small that the impact of the fishery is negligible and a single storm has thousands of times more impact than the total collection quota. It may seem foul at first look, but the data shows that is it completely sustainable and well managed.

I agree that the research and the policies could use improvement. sustainability and legislation supporting it changes so profoundly and often.

 

[firechild]

I agree that the research and the policies could use improvement. sustainability and legislation supporting it changes so profoundly and often.

There are probably no reefs on the planet with more of a global eye on them than the GBR, which means that the Queensland and Australian governments tend to err on the side of caution with any decisions relating to these reefs. Legislation almost always lags behind research, that's not a unique trait in this situation. It still amazes me that the changes were made as recently as they were to allow the export of live coral from Australia given the perception of a decision like this being in contradiction with environmental protection. It has been to the benefit of the collectors/exporters but to the detriment of the local hobbyists (obviously legislation isn't made with this under consideration).