FRT Restrictions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Here:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15700&page=1

icthyophile said:
According to Ms. Janine Van Norman of the USFWS, USFWS considers any FRT in the U.S. to be illegally imported in violation of the Lacey Act. This determination is apparently based not on the recent CITES II listing of the FRT, but on the Lacey Act provisions prohibiting the importation, acquisition, or sales of species in violation of foreign laws. Specifically, the three countries in which FRTs occur naturally, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia, all have export bans, which trigger the Lacey Act prohibition. This information is based on a conversation I had w/ Ms. Van Norman about a month ago.
 
i have talked to local USFWS earlier this week and he said that as long as they have their paperwork that they are still legal because i am looking into importing some from indonesia theres a supplier there that will ship them relativley cheap, and yes i have read that whole thread and it gives contradicting statements so i dont know what to believe yet i will make sure and check with my local officer again and have him double check his statements to me
 
I haven't responded cuz I'm getting fed up with repeating myself. No matter what anyone says; CHECK THE LAWS. If CITES and the Lacey Act haven't changed in the last 24 hours, then FRTs are NOT banned. The only country they're (regularly) coming from is Indonesia. Australia has banned all exports of FRT. Papua, New Guinea hasn't imposed a ban yet. However, they haven't issued any export permits in almost a year either. Indonesia still allows exporting FRTs that are captive-hatched. They've yet to issue a limit on the numbers for collection and export.
FRT wild egg collections in Indonesia number 1.5 to 2 million annually. If 90% (unrealistic) of the harvest is retained for food, that still leaves 100,000 available for export. Split that number up evenly to the continents (just as an example) and you're looking at 14,285 hatchlings available to each continent. Now, factor in the point that Australia has a ban on all FRT trade and China has, also, just recently imposed a ban on FRT imports and you're looking at an awful lot of hatchlings looking for homes. 14,000 may not sound like a lot. If it were Levi's 501s, that number is low. But consider the number of turtle keepers (pretty high number). Now, take away those that don't keep fully aquatic species. In the end, you're looking at a rather good number of FRTs available to US hobbyists.
 
Becuase MFK still has a say on what it allows to be sold and traded here on the board.

MFK chooses not to allow Asian Arowana, Snakehead and FRT sales or trades in the USA. Whatever you do personally outside the board is up to you. Just leave MFK out of it, when dealing with these animals.

If you have any of these, then good for you. You can enjoy and share picsture and info about them, no selling or trading on the board.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com