Protected corals?

[jmaneyapanda]

JennM;418933 wrote: Dave... memories of Clariongate.

Or more recently when a certain collector tried to pass off some Clipperton angels as Holacanthus limbaughi.

Kind of off-topic (fish vs. corals)... but along the same lines.

I don't know of any corals illegal to import except maybe black corals, but there's not a lot of market for them anyway (at least not in my circles). I'm not even sure they're illegal... but I remember hearing something to that effect a while back.

Don't even try to collect corals in FL - not worth the risk.

Jenn

Holocanthus limbaughi and Clipperton Angel are the same thing. He listed them as passers.

I have imported and exported more animals than I can count, and I can say, without doubt, smuggling animals is THE worst black eye this hobby can get, especially when there are so many people than want to close us down already.

In the case of these fish, the person in question is at fault, no ifs, ands, or buts. He KNOWINGLY (by his own admission) attempted to bring them in when the declaration claimed theyw ere a different species. It raised a LOT fo questions to his entire history of importing. Its a long story, but this guy attempted to smuggle the fish in- plain and simple. That is something that cannot be condoned by anyone.

BTW, every clipperton angel died from that shipment.

 

[jennm]

I stand corrected on the species name - IRRC the Clarions were also "passed off" as Passers.. perhaps there's something about the name Not to mention somewhat of a resemblance, at least in juveniles. Those "Passers" didn't "pass".

And yes, Jeremy, I concur - this is a huge black eye, perhaps more so because of the individual and his history - he was thought by many, including myself, to be one of the "good guys" - with a long standing history of promoting net-caught fish, providing training to divers to get them away from cyanide use, and so forth.

A lot of people gave him the benefit of the doubt, and *that* surprised me, particularly in light of how those same people reacted during the Clarion debacle. I don't have all the facts and I didn't read through the whole thread, so I don't have an "opinion" per se on the specifics, except that if he was wrong, he was wrong, and shouldn't be excused - so I'll take your word on that, as I know you're more informed than me on such things, and the particulars of that event.

Stinks about the Clippertons - I believe the Clarions that didn't already get to the end-buyer (hobbyist) ended up in Long Beach?

There are 2 sides to the smuggling issue - of course the first one is that someone is doing something illegal - the other side of that is, there's a market for it. People risk a lot to do it, and consumers spend a LOT of money to procure those specimens. Not limited to the aquarium hobby/trade... but it does apply here too. There were lots of folks with their eyes on the prize when the Clarions arrived, and some got through before the spam hit the fan.

If there wasn't a market for these creatures, there be no temptation for some to turn a fast buck bringing them in illegally.

Jenn

 

[jennm]

And they do come into the trade legally - very occasionally. They are very expensive, to be sure.

It's not that there aren't a lot of them, there are plenty. Their natural habitat is in protected waters - mainly off the coast of Mexico, I believe.

Jenn

 

[jennm]

More than likely - I've never tried to bring one in. I don't know too many folks aside from a few here, that would pony up that kind of coin for one.

I daresay that those in a position to purchase one, have a good connection, and they are all scooped up pretty quickly, before they even arrive.

Beautiful fish, but at the price of a half-decent used car, too rich for me

Jenn