Illegal Fish Thread

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Fishfiles1

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Mar 3, 2008
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Lansing Michigan/Mesick Michigan
Real Name
Ben
dont for get the asian carp
 

drjdp

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Apr 10, 2006
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Los Angeles
Anyone heard of a Hooee Hooee?

30 years ago I worked in a Los Angeles aquarium store. We tried importing one time, almost killed the store. Among the Amazon imports was a fish that a knowlegeable collector took. He called it a "Hooee Hooee" (I don't know the correct spelling). It was about 3 inches long when we got it and it resembled a snakehead, as I remember it. He said it would grow to 5 feet and was the most dangerous of all the Amazon river fish. He claimed they swim along the river's edge and jump out and grab deer, pigs or people next to the water. I have never heard of this fish anywhere else. Anyone have an idea what it was?
 

krzyklwn

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Jan 22, 2008
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African Clawed frog in virginia

So I noticed that someone listed stats for virginia and clawed frogs were listed as illiegal. I have a 12 gallon tank with neon tetras, glofish, a cory, snail and what I thought was an african dwarf frog. Recently my tetras have been disappearing, two in the last two days for a total of 3 fish. I started doing some research and I think I actually have a clawed frog. But now i see that they are illegal so I'm wondering if the petstore "accidently" stocked them as dwarf frogs or am I crazy and it really is a dwarf frog and something else is going on. Any ideas?
 

bushwhacker

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Aug 2, 2008
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westminster sc.
(P) Candiru Catfish (family Trichomycteridae, all species)
OMG who in their right mind would want one of these? this is a parasitic fish that will swim up your urethra or any other opening it can get into
 

Lupin

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Sep 21, 2006
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Lupin Information Super Highway/Goldfish Informati
thegab.org
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Paul
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Wyomingite

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Oct 16, 2008
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Wonderful Windy Wyoming
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Ivan
Wyoming, U.S.A.:

To start off, there is a note referencing federal regulations and mentioning that federal regs apply.

Any invert is legal to possess, transport and import with the exception of the rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus), the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), and the New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum). I am surprised the quagga mussel isn’t listed specifically in this list as well.

Nowhere in the regs is a single species of fish specifically mentioned as prohibited. However, all fish or eggs imported require a license and certificate of health, with the only exceptions being goldfish, tropical fish and marine fish. “Tropical Fish” are defined as those species that can’t survive in water below 50 degrees Fahrenheit as documented in a scientific paper. “Marine Fish” are species that lead their entire life cycle in saltwater, e.g. species that are anadromous or catadromous are considered “fresh” water. Goldfish, tropical fish and marine fish must be confined to a tank. The wording on marines is great stuff. I know I’m really worried about someone releasing lionfish, damsels or clownfish with all the ocean front property here… LOL

The licensing/health certification process is complicated (several pages long. Despite certification of health being specifically exempted in the text only for goldfish, tropicals and marines, Appendix I turns back and says “A certificate of veterinary inspection is currently required only for all salmonid fishes (trout, salmon, grayling, whitefish), and for northern pike and carp originating from outside North America…”. And nowhere does it say that cold water fish can’t be imported.

This is the first time I've ever looked at the regulations other than permitting requirements to keep native fish. The laws are pretty typical of what I’d expect from Wyoming. Specific to maintaining the health of native fisheries, not a lot of concern about everything else. A lot of leeway for a person to do what he or she likes, but vague enough to leave plenty of loopholes for the Game and Fish to hang you if they decide they don’t like it.

BTW, I have some prime Wyoming ocean-front property for sale if anyone is interested… ;)

WYite
 

MisaHasTheEyes

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Nov 21, 2008
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Some shark species are now legal in Arizona.

No crayfish is, however. :devil:
 

foolishfish

Registered Fish Offender
Dec 10, 2008
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Where the wild things are
I used to build houses and had to deal with the local county equivalent of EPA and Dept. of Natural Resources quite frequently. Here in Maryland it is illegal to possess any indigenous wild caught species. Follow the logic now...you can catch a rockfish that is endangered in the Bay and leave it on the dock to die, but if you keep one alive in a tank or pond...you're a criminal. (Not that you'd put a fish that size in a tank, but you get the idea)

I volunteer with Save Our Streams and Trout Unlimited, and had built a brown trout hatchery that we were using to repopulate old trout streams that had been wiped out by sedimentation, (mainly from people like my kindred home builders).

Even with our best intentions and a history of decades of good works they didn't want to give us the permits. They were emphatic that absolutely no one was allowed to impound a native game fish species, and since we intended to raise fingerlings to adulthood we were bad people.

When I paid a visit to their offices one week, during our four month battle to get a permit, I was greeted in their waiting room by a new addition to their decor...a 120 gal. aquarium.

Imagine my surprise when, upon closer inspection, I could identify Small Mouth Bass, Crappie and Blue Gills all seemingly unaware that the were being held illegally. Turns out the required permit was also not affixed or displayed anywhere to be found.

Long story longer...after much attention getting discourse (me threatening lives for the B.S. that they'd put us thru) they produced a permit for their tank at the same time ours miraculously appeared.

I do enough conservation work, and enjoy the out doors enough, that I can appreciate the need for limiting knuckleheads from promulgating potential ecological disaster due to dim witted invasive species introduction to the wild. However...some of the jerks that we've empowered to keep watch are almost as bad as the idiots releasing snakeheads into the Potomac.

Whatever happened to moderation and common sense? :confused:
 
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