Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I just have a quick question for you guys and girls. Can I collect some soft corals in the Key West area? I am going on a trip there with the Navy and was wondering if I could get some cool corals or fish there. Is there a web site that I can look up to see what is legal to get and what is not? Thanks,

Dave

in short, you can't. If I remember correctly, you can buy a collector's license or something like that, and then you have a limited number of items you can pull per day.

You can collect soft corals with a valid fishing license. There is a maximum that you can collect per day and they can't be attached to any substrate larger than a quarter. I am sure that Florida has some page with this but I don't have it handy. Any hard coral collection is not allowed.

You can have no more than 6 octocoral (soft coral) colonies at any time.

Phil

Bottom of the page.

http://myfwc.com/marine/Regulations/Regschart2005.pdf

Phil

Thanks for the replies! I just have to find a way to get them back to Cali. I think that softies will be ok fed ex overnight.

Thanks again,

Dave

I have not been there to collect but I know that there are mostly zoanthids, ricordia and gorgonians there. They would be good overnight.

Thanks Scott! I thought they would be ok. I may try to take them on the plane with me since it is a navy flight and don't have to go throught the same check in process and I know they would be handled alot better by me.


Dave

did you say you were based out of Arizona?

No California. Why do you ask?

Dave

Just a joke about your comment of the check in process and the guys who got busted last week for smuggling drugs..