I remember seeing fish called "longnose" gars in my LFS. They were Florida gars though. I thought its illegal to own gars in Cali so if someone bought one would they have to get a permit. And yes they were true gars
I thought gars were illegal in Cali
- Thread starter 619aquaponics
- Start date
All true gars are illegal in California, plain and simple.
However, many LFS's and fish keepers in CA play it "Cali-Cool" and ignore these laws. These laws include Florida gars, spotted gars, shortnose gars, longnose gars, alligator gars, tropical gars, Cuban gars, and all of their hybrids, so it's alll species of gars, not just certain species.
I'm not quite sure as to how one would legally acquire one in CA, but a permit definitely would need to be acquired prior to purchasing any gars there if private citizens are even allowed to get said theoretical permits.
In the end, it's not worth the potential legal trouble to illegally purchase/trade/sell/own a gar in CA without first contacting the governing body (Fish & Game?) that determines and enforces the applicable laws.
Source: California Fish and Game Code
However, many LFS's and fish keepers in CA play it "Cali-Cool" and ignore these laws. These laws include Florida gars, spotted gars, shortnose gars, longnose gars, alligator gars, tropical gars, Cuban gars, and all of their hybrids, so it's alll species of gars, not just certain species.
I'm not quite sure as to how one would legally acquire one in CA, but a permit definitely would need to be acquired prior to purchasing any gars there if private citizens are even allowed to get said theoretical permits.
In the end, it's not worth the potential legal trouble to illegally purchase/trade/sell/own a gar in CA without first contacting the governing body (Fish & Game?) that determines and enforces the applicable laws.
Source: California Fish and Game Code
Gobrian44;5161178; said:
They had them in a while back (as in months) I haven't seen any at the store since. I'm not sure I wanna say which store it is I don't want to get anyone in trouble
619aquaponics;5161345; said:
read the post by wiggles above. ALL GARS (members of Lepisosteidae) ARE ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA.
All true Gars are illegal in CA. Whether the shops been selling for months or years, it's their risk to when they are caught and fined.
