keeping illegal fish

[benzjamin13]

zero facts? just like not one mod can point to a forum being shut down? come on.

I've heard of some sites that have shut down due to illegal sales, but they don't pertain to fish. And I don't know the site names as I've heard about them from the news. Even so, I don't want the risk of this site being shut down for letting people sell/buy anything illegal. And if it doesn't get shut down, I'm sure there will be a hefty fine to pay. I'm sure the site owner won't be happy if he gets a multi-thousand dollar fine.

 

[jcardona1]

I say make any fish that could threaten native stocks illegal....without a permit.

Ideas like this make me giggle, just like high school kids talking politics and foreign policy. This is nowhere near feasible. And even if it were, who will administer this program? You see the government can't even get its act together in order to keep certain departments and services running. But sure, let's add another needless and expensive department overflowing with bureaucratic bullcrap.

 

[SimonL]

That's insane... KHV is only transferable to carp species so it's not like they have to worry about it hurting other fish populations. 90% of KHV carriers die.

I wonder if it affects those big-headed carp...you think the Gov. would be rounding up KHV carriers and letting em go where the bigheaded carp are found

 

[Kaosu]

I do believe that it is contingent on a responsible owner and what their intentions are.

^this.
I have native fish(sculpin)....before i even did the research... in Washington it is illegal to transport live fish from its body of water,....i was collecting crays and found a few fry and scooped them up...once i had them home and they survived, i started my research, when i found the laws i called DNR
I asked them about the laws and said what i had done..the guy one the phone literally said " sculpin? oh we don't care just don't release it"... i found this odd ..so called a few more offices around the NW and got basically the same response.(though...sculpin are latterly EVERYWHERE around here)
I never plan to release my fish, or trade them to anyone.

Its all about the owners not the fish.

 

[MN_Rebel]

I just think the laws and the bans are just plain dumb. Any reasons why the stinging catfish is banned in United States? I could be wrong or misinformed.

 

[mshill90]

I wonder if it affects those big-headed carp...you think the Gov. would be rounding up KHV carriers and letting em go where the bigheaded carp are found

Yes, it would, as it affects all Cyprinidae family. That is a very good idea, but you would have to transport them during an outbreak. Many carp can be simple carriers and never show a sign- like goldfish.

That's why all of my goldfish and koi go through a 6 week long QT process with many different factors involved because by stressing the fish, that often brings out the symptoms.

I did receive koi with KHV from a guy in NJ who I found out was selling fish from wholesale purchases without an aquaculture license. - I notified Fish and Game immediately, and they shut him down. He was a K-9 cop on top of that!

I pitched the tank, filter, nets, boxes... absolutely everything that came in contact with that including my clothing and shoes.

Take no chances with KHV. None.

 

[Chaz88]

We've posted news articles concerning the arrests of importers and dealers of illegal species. The gov't may not check all boxes but, we know that shipping boxes are checked by the number of importers busted for illegal smuggling of asian aros and snakeheads (the last SH bust was for importing live SHs for asian food markets).

According to one report I saw the origination of the snake head problem was not with pet fish keepers, for a change, but with asian food fish importers intentionally trying to establish a local population. Yes, I can provide references if needed.

 

[Oddball]

The origin of the SH issues on the east coast wasn't directly caused by the food markets. It was caused by a market customer who purchased SHs for a family dinner. When family members died, he released the live SHs into local waters in a ceremonial honor tradition for the dead. Unfortunately, the SHs survived and flourished from this release.

 

[Wiggles92]

Okay, I'm not up for reading the entire thread, but here's what I think about illegal fish species in the U.S.:

• Most fish species are illegal for good reason e.g. snakeheads because some species are able to survive and dominate in many states. However, I think that some fish species that are illegal should be made legal with certain provisions e.g. the Asian arowana is illegal because of its endangered status and CITES listing yet captive bred specimens with microchips and official certificates are legally and readily available in Canada. It would be fairly simple to just require all Asian arowanas that would be imported to the U.S. be captive bred, microchipped, certified, and recorded in a database to avoid wild specimens from being brought in.
• From a government standpoint, it's easier to just ban the entire genus of fishes rather than just the specific fishes that can survive in a particular state. We may find this highly illogical, but most, if not all, of the people who would be tasked with enforcing the laws have zero knowledge about IDing specific species of fish, so having a blanket ban is much simpler for them. Many fish suppliers are also not the greatest at IDing fish which further adds to the problem because they might unknowingly import illegal fish that they accidentally IDed as a legal species.

I have more about this subject, but that's all for now.

 

[Chaz88]

The origin of the SH issues on the east coast wasn't directly caused by the food markets. It was caused by a market customer who purchased SHs for a family dinner. When family members died, he released the live SHs into local waters in a ceremonial honor tradition for the dead. Unfortunately, the SHs survived and flourished from this release.

Although irresponsible for the big picture, I like that explanation much better than the report I saw. (and I am glad I did not have to finish composing my response to the quickly modded/deleted post that did follow my last. I spent many years in Asia and the people are some of the best I have ever known.)