Illegal fish

[2639]

Are there any fish that are illegal to obtain? Just curious.

[tim_coville_]

any endangered animals obviously...other than that i dont know, im sure there are some commericial fish you cant keep...

[Condiman]

I belive FW snakeheads are illegal in some states.

[CZ]

Look up a copy of your State Fish and Game Regulations. Most States have restrictions on import of certain fish that are known to overtake native populations. They make the restrictions to prevent accidental release into the wild which could upset the natural species balance.

[FishinInTheDark]

In my state, it is illegal to keep any indigenous species in a tank. I could, for instance, keep an exotic catfish that could probably survive quite well if released into our waters, but I could not keep a German Brown Trout. I'm confused as to the purpose of these regs.

[2639]

I THINK it's illegal to contain a catfish in TN also.

[Doctor_Reef]

Each state is different...Here in my state there are certain fish I couldn't keep either...just check with your fish and game department and they should be able to direct you to the answers...

[2639]

I'm not planning to keep any that are illegal...don't get me wrong! LOL
I was just curious what type of ocean fish were cause you can probably bet that there are some in someone's tank.

[Doctor_Reef]

Yea....that is probably possible... :)

[gman0526]

Lion fish are illegal to be imported to PR since last yr.

[2639]

Why so gman?

[Doctor_Reef]

Wow...that bites.... :(

[2639]

I think it was Bigfoot that said LiveRock was illegal to own in Hawaii...that would be hard not to be allowed to have lr in my tank.

[gman0526]

There's been sightings of LF in the local reefs, some irresponsible hobbists that let them loose once they outgrow a tank or quit the hobby, and since they have no natural enemies and the fact that they'll eat ay fish that fits in their mouth, in this part of the world they might become a pest in the future.

On the HI rock comment i beleive that harvesting is what's illegal not owning.

[2639]

hmmmmmm You might have a chance to make some cash...pest removal (charge your local gvt for that), then sell the LF to th states.

LOL

[MikeS]

Yes. most states have regs on what can or cannot be kept. Pirhana, for instance, are illegal in many states for fear (mostly unjustified IMO) they may be released into the wild and compete with native species for resources. In my state it is also illegal (as Conni pointed out) to keep any game species as a pet. Same thing, they fear transplanting of the species into a water where it does not occur naturally, upsetting the balance of things.

Some marine fish and coral species are also CITES protected, making illegal to harvest them in the first place. I can't think of an exact example right off the top of my head, but I believe some of the larger angels fall into this category.

Expect to see more and more restrictions placed on our hobby in the coming years, especially if you live in coastal areas. The problems of calupera infestation and things like the lionfish in PR scenario George spoke of will catch the attention of the Government (the calupera situation already has) and restrictions will be placed...

Mike

[tnguy86]

i'm pretty sure you can't own a piranha in louisiana....and clarion angels are also a no no in the u.s....but i still want one =)

[gman0526]

To add to Mike's statement...all along the eastern seabord of the US there's been sightings of numerous non-local fish. Yellow tangs, Picasso triggers, lionfish, some of the larger angels that are indigenous to the Pacific Ocean have been spotted too.

[fppf]

"All drains lead to the ocean kid"
LOL :lol:

Don't you just love how a few people wreck the deal for the rest.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I belive FW snakeheads are illegal in some states.
Snakeheads are a huge problem here, people are constantly pulling them out of the Patuxent River over in Maryland.

[gman0526]

"All drains lead to the ocean kid"
LOL :lol:

Don't you just love how a few people wreck the deal for the rest.

That's absolutely true, and the we end up with bills like HR3469 that threaten our hobby from even existing, just for a couple of irresponsible jerks.

[2639]

I've made a personal policy to ONLY get tank raised fish or aquacultured rock. Or frags. I can't imagine what would happen to the ocean if we depleted the reef. We'd have fish from all over the world where they didn' t belong.

[bubbles]

In Hawaii almost everything is illegal. Harvesting live rocks is illegal, so I heard. A lot of invearts are illegal and you're not allowed to import. I think that on the species that you are allowed to import you must get an import permit, not sure. One can find out (in Hawaii) what they are allowed to own by visiting the state department of agriculture website. So consider yourselves lucky as you gaze at your beautiful reef tanks.