Are Any Fish Illegal Where You Live?

[Inchyally]

There are only two fish I know are illegal in New York, though there may possibly be more. Snakeheads and Red Bellied Piranhas. Apparently, these are both invasive predatory species that may cause problems in the local waters. However, having gone right over the border, to a fish store in New Jersey, I have seen Piranhas for sale. Doesn't really make sense, you can just buy one, go over the border and put it in your tank... and hope nobody rats you out.

I read a story of somebody in my state who obtained a Snakehead before the laws were put into effect. Somebody ratted him out to the state for owning the fish. They were going to have him KILL HIS OWN FISH! But they sorted things out, he got a license for the fish but has to pay a $500 fine, possibly yearly, to own the fish. I don't think that is fair.

Anyway, are any species of fish illegal where you live?

 

[drobbyb]

I would agree with you, but not everyone is a responsible fish keeper. What happens (and Florida's canals a testament to) is people get tired of a fish for whatever reason, and toss it into the local lake or river. This is bad. They think they are doing the fish a favor by letting it go. Now you can catch Oscars as a game fish in Florida. Snakeheads can decimate native fish populations in no time, and are a threat to people as well (well, the larger species). They do not belong in our eco-systems. Since people release invasive species, I believe that there should be a limitation and a stiff fine/jail sentence.

 

[Inchyally]

I would agree with you, but not everyone is a responsible fish keeper. What happens (and Florida's canals a testament to) is people get tired of a fish for whatever reason, and toss it into the local lake or river. This is bad. They think they are doing the fish a favor by letting it go. Now you can catch Oscars as a game fish in Florida. Snakeheads can decimate native fish populations in no time, and are a threat to people as well (well, the larger species). They do not belong in our eco-systems. Since people release invasive species, I believe that there should be a limitation and a stiff fine/jail sentence.

I know what you mean. I know when it comes to saltwater fish, they have found Lionfish off of the coast of Long Island! Probably somebody didn't want their pet any more... I understand the worry, but there are many responsible fish keepers out there who would never think of releasing there fish into the native waters. But even though some people are irresponsible with their fish, it isn't a good reason to punish people who are, like fining that one man who owned his Snakehead before laws were put into effect.

 

[llamalord305]

Yep, you can catch some pretty nice Oscars down here. A friend of a friend got one.

 

[trojannemo]

here in florida we have a very long list of illegal species!

most notable are the Tilapia species...they're EVERYWHERE and you can't go dipnetting/fishing in freshwater without catching some, yet they're illegal to possess or even release back in the water

likewise Piranha and pirambeba are illegal to have by anyone at anytime...not even with a permit are they allowed...

i understand why the laws are there though....i go dipnetting and always catch non-native species - jewels, salvinis, mayans and jaguar cichlids...there's oscars too, though i haven't caught any...there's many more species, and not only fish but invertebrates and such as well...

 

[snowflake311]

pretty sure the walking catfish is a big no no here on the west coast. CA has a few illegal fish.
Some snakeheads are really bad and will wipe out large numbers of native fish.

I know there are a few aquatic plants are illegal to sell due to the chocking the life out of the native plants.

If only people would not let these fish into the wild we would not have a problem. introducing any non-native animal is just awful and does lots of damage to wild life. Sadly we have too many stupid people that mess everything up for the good fish keepers.

 

[bitteraspects]

here in hawaii, everything is illegal. lol
i think the only fish that are legal are white clouds and ghost shrimp. hahah

 

[Aequora]

I used to live along one of the canals in Miami (Dade county, on 199th street) and when I was 13 I decided I was going to go fishing... with cheese as my bait. I caught something that I thought looked like a piranha; I freak out and ran screaming all the way home with this HUGE, scary looking fish on my line. Now I know it was a tiger oscar, looking back on the pictures we took. Released the darn thing back into the canal not knowing it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. >___<

 

[loraxchick]

I know what you mean. I know when it comes to saltwater fish, they have found Lionfish off of the coast of Long Island! Probably somebody didn't want their pet any more... I understand the worry, but there are many responsible fish keepers out there who would never think of releasing there fish into the native waters. But even though some people are irresponsible with their fish, it isn't a good reason to punish people who are, like fining that one man who owned his Snakehead before laws were put into effect.
[/quote]
there are actually loads of tropical species found off the coast of LI, especially on the east end. the gulf stream comes up from the tropics and takes a turn toward Europe right off the coast of NJ/LI and it spins off little eddies of warm water and fishies that came up in the gulf stream. i went to Long Island University in Southampton LI for marine science. we did loads of trawling/seining in the bays, inlets, marshes and ocean near our school. i worked in the wet lab for all four years where we would keep our specimens for study, and we had all sorts of tropicals. tons of butterfly fish, lookdowns, goatfish, box fish, tropical jacks, non-native seahorses, sargasso fish, etc etc. now these fish surely wouldnt have survived once the cold winters hit, as they were "kicked out" of the gulf stream from the eddies and into colder bays/waters of LI. so in the case of LI, it wouldnt necessarily be the fault of anysort of fishkeeper to find tropicals during warmer months. just thought id share.
cheers

 

[Elrohirthehasty]

here in hawaii, everything is illegal. lol
i think the only fish that are legal are white clouds and ghost shrimp. hahah

dang, how do you go about the hobby? or do you just browse the forums saying "I wish...". I find myself doing the same.

 

[bitteraspects]

here in hawaii, everything is illegal. lol
i think the only fish that are legal are white clouds and ghost shrimp. hahah

dang, how do you go about the hobby? or do you just browse the forums saying "I wish...". I find myself doing the same.

lol. It was an exaggeration. Kind of.
We have more than those two options, though when it comes to oddballs and exotics our options are very limited. There are a lot of regulations here regarding importing fish due to preservation acts and things like that.

 

[mr130gallon]

i dont know of any illegal fish where i live, though red eared slider turtles were illegal for i while (i think)

 

[Elrohirthehasty]

here in hawaii, everything is illegal. lol
i think the only fish that are legal are white clouds and ghost shrimp. hahah

dang, how do you go about the hobby? or do you just browse the forums saying "I wish...". I find myself doing the same.

lol. It was an exaggeration. Kind of.
We have more than those two options, though when it comes to oddballs and exotics our options are very limited. There are a lot of regulations here regarding importing fish due to preservation acts and things like that.

Makes sense.

 

[bitteraspects]

only thing is, the fish we are able to get, tend to also be more expensive, because shipping cost/ import license cost is so high.
bhut the LFS keep the usual tetras/goldies/etc onhand
and we do have a pretty good selection of SW fish, being in the middle of the pacific ocean and all. lol

 

[Mikaila31]

Natives! Its a major pain trying to legally buy or collect native fish. Especially non-sports fish, you got to apply for a collectors permit and stuff. Loophole to these laws though is to have a kid under 16 catch and take the fish home. Then its totally legal no paperwork, permits, or even fishing license involved.