Picking my own live rock?

[dropped82]

I'm getting ready to make a trip to Florida and was wondering if anyone knew of somewhere I could go to pick my own live rock for my reef tank. I'm going to Daytona Beach so anywhere around there or within maybe 45 mins to an hour of there would be great. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Eric

[gregoryalln]

i know tampa bay saltwater has open day on saturday, i dont know about anything around daytona, i dont think that they do any collecting around there,and usually collector's are set up by the harvesting site's

[adam2373]

If you are willing to go as far south as Vero/ Melbourne area there should be plenty of places along the water. Just stay out of the national parks as it is illegal to take rock and sand from there. And if you see Ricordea on a rock leave it be. It s a heafty fine if you get caught. Although loose Ricordea is fair gain.

[dropped82]

well, Melbourne only seems to be about 70-80 miles south so that wouldnt be to bad. What does Recordea look like. I've never heard of it. A friend of mine that is going with me knew of a place where there is quite of few tide polls and shallow rocky places. I think he said something like Jeb or Jeg. I cant remember what the name was. does any of that sound familiar. Thanks for the help

[tangwang]

If you are willing to go as far south as Vero/ Melbourne area there should be plenty of places along the water. Just stay out of the national parks as it is illegal to take rock and sand from there. And if you see Ricordea on a rock leave it be. It s a heafty fine if you get caught. Although loose Ricordea is fair gain.

I hope you're not implying that he can collect his own liverock :wink: For it is illegal to harvest liverock anywhere in FL state waters 8)

Matt

[joanadam]

That's what I thought :shock:

[adam2373]

Illegal only if collected in mass quantities like 100#'s or more. I've asked a game warden friend of mine. A rock here and there is not a concern of theirs, only when it is truck loaded out.

[joanadam]

Illegal only if collected in mass quantities like 100#'s or more. I've asked a game warden friend of mine. A rock here and there is not a concern of theirs, only when it is truck loaded out.

I still agree with Tangwang. I don't think that is correct. I think your game warden friend was probably speaking for himself in terms of what he considers a worthy pursuit. This is an abstract from the Florida Department of State website in regards to liverock collection and it does not set limits on how much is legal, it pretty much says any collection is illegal unless you have a lisence.

68B-42.008 Live Rock: Harvest in State Waters Prohibited; Aquacultured Live Rock Harvest and Landing Allowed.
(1) No person shall harvest or possess for sale any live rock in or from state waters or land any live rock harvested in or from
state waters, except as may be provided in subsection (3).
(2) No person shall sell, within the State of Florida, any live rock harvested in or from federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
waters adjacent to state waters unless such person possesses an Aquaculture Certificate issued by the Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to Chapter 597, Florida Statutes, and a federal Live Rock Aquaculture Permit issued
by the National Marine Fisheries Service under 50 C.F.R. Part 638.
(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to:
(a) Any person possessing an Aquaculture Certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
pursuant to Chapter 597, Florida Statutes, harvesting and landing live rock cultured on state submerged lands leased from the State
of Florida. Rock used for such culture shall be of a readily distinguishable geologic character from rock native to the area or be
securely marked or tagged so as to differentiate the cultured rock from naturally occurring live rock. The rock shall be placed on
leased submerged lands by the lease-holder or a person possessing written authorization from the lease-holder.
(b) Any person lawfully harvesting substrate as part of the harvest of octocorals pursuant to subsection 68B-42.005(4) or
paragraph 68B-42.006(2)(c), F.A.C.
Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 7-1-92, Amended 10-18-93, 1-1-95,
Formerly 46-42.008, Amended 6-1-99.

http://fac.dos.state.fl.us/faconline/chapter68.pdf

Of course I'm not an Attorney or Court Judge, but I interpret it as without proper authorization you cannot collect any.

[tangwang]

Illegal only if collected in mass quantities like 100#'s or more. I've asked a game warden friend of mine. A rock here and there is not a concern of theirs, only when it is truck loaded out.


That couldn't be farther from the truth. Joan is correct. And you might want to check out the Florida Fish and Wildlife commission's saltwater regulations site, and look at THIS (http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/recharvestmls.htm) page. Scroll down to prohibited section. What your game warden friend says is one thing, and what his boss (the Florida FWC) says, is another. Although your intentions may not be bad, the fact still remains that you are encouraging our members to break a state law, and face $$$ fines, and possible jail time, not to mention losing anything (vehicle, boat, etc.) he/she is in possesion of at the time of the crime. That being said I think this type of advice should be given in a bit more of a responsible manner.

Now back to the original topic... I haven't really been to the Daytona area in quite a few years, so I'm not sure about the LFS's in that area. I'd say your best bet would be to get a phone book when you get in the area, and I'm sure you will find tons of Tropical fish stores in the are, as I remember there are quite a few. But, if possible, I reccomend taking the drive to Tampa ( a few hours or so) and hitting Tampa Bay Saltwater. It'll be well worth it, as you won't find cheaper liverock anywhere else.... And the best part is, the in-house prices are much cheaper than the shipped and handled prices.

Matt

[gregoryalln]

alot of game wardens here in oregon will let small things slide, but it is still illegal, and if you get a game warden that does care then you will be paying alot more than a few bucks a pound. I do know that you can collect fish, and certain inverts, i have done the research on that, but you need to get a liscense and there is very limited quanties of what you can harvest, and where it can be harvested from. you also must keep track of what you have and turn it in at the end of each day. as far as rock the people that harvest it have to farm that area, they have toplant the rock and let it set down there for 5 years then harvest and replant

[adam2373]

This is true tangwang, I'm told one thing by someone that I thought I could trust or maby he just dosen't know his job as well as I thought he did. Thanks for the advice.

[gregoryalln]

alot of people dont know their jobs as well as they think they do. go to the airport and ask any guy from t.s.a. how they would clear fish. they wont know, i had to actually tell them how to clear them (open the box, e.t.d, and manually inspect it for weapons) is the correct answer
same goes for most game wardens in oregon, they just know what they are assigned to. but if he is a game warden and he said you can collect it then tell him to go grab you some ;)

[adam2373]

LOL I would ask him but he is a game warden in the everglades. Mainly gators, bears, panthers and dear are his specialty

[joanadam]

Well that explains why he's not concerned with LR :idea:

[dropped82]

thanks everyone for the info. Im just a midwestern so im really up on florida laws. I think im gonna make the trip to tampa on my way home. A little out of the way but worth it. Thanks Again you all just kept me out of trouble

[joanadam]

You mean you don't take a Lawyer with you when you travel :lol:

[tangwang]

thanks everyone for the info. Im just a midwestern so im really up on florida laws. I think im gonna make the trip to tampa on my way home. A little out of the way but worth it. Thanks Again you all just kept me out of trouble

I think you will be VERY happy going through Tampa on your way home, and picking up some TBS liverock! Email Richard at Tampabay Saltwater.com, and he'll get back with you and let you know a good time to stop by when you get ready. :D

Matt