hawaii law for coral and liverocks?
- Thread starter youareafever
- Start date
You are SOL on coral. Importing any type of invert is illegal, as is collecting stony corals. Zoanthids are legal, though.
"Live rock" is possible, but it's illegal to collect it yourself. There is one outfit that grows it on Molokai, or if you're patient you can put dead rocks in your tank and seed it. Rubbish from the ocean (beer bottles, etc.) works well for this.
"Live rock" is possible, but it's illegal to collect it yourself. There is one outfit that grows it on Molokai, or if you're patient you can put dead rocks in your tank and seed it. Rubbish from the ocean (beer bottles, etc.) works well for this.
yea, i went to the waikiki aquarium yesterday and ran into Charles Delbeek. the funny thing is i didnt know he worked there. He just happened to be the guy that came out and started feeding the sea horses, and i figured i would ask him a few questions. but as all you said, having coral is illegal, collecting live rock is illegal. but one good thing. i can have all the sand i want. he also said there are some marine plants i can collect and ill be able to take some invertabrates and fish for personnel collection, if i can manage to catch them. but still in the end this sucks, i was so excited about coral.
youareafever":149y6noe said:
I just moved to Hawaii about 2 months ago and looked up the local laws. From what I had found you are allowed to collect sand and rock rubble up to a 1 gallon container per person per day. Collecting live rock and corals from the actual reef is illegal. However, you can collect all the fish you want. Personally I go to a really awesome place across the street from the Pearl Ridge Mall. They have super cheap prices and a great selection on local fish.
oh, you must be talking about coral fish hawaii. its a 2 story store right? besides that store there is only one other fish store i visit on this island and that is the modern pet center. that one is across ala moana mall right next to wall mart if you dont knwo were it is already.
Yup thats the place! I havent been to the Modern Pet Center yet because I'm still working on getting my tank replaced. When I moved the movers put about 60 lbs of crushed coral and equipment in the tank and then crated it. So its really scratched and because they didn't pad the stand, its really chipped and scrated as well.
Pet stores here are a trip because they offer things for $10 that I couldn't get in Seattle for $80, IF they were willing to import it for me or IF an on-line vendor had it in stock.
If you're military heres a good thing to know. While there arent any reefs around here to worry about damaging, only military police have jurisdiction on the base beaches. Theres lots of stray live rock close to shore you can collect for personal use as long as you don't gain capital. I'm probably going to use the sand from Sunset Beach myself because I like the consistancy.
Pet stores here are a trip because they offer things for $10 that I couldn't get in Seattle for $80, IF they were willing to import it for me or IF an on-line vendor had it in stock.
If you're military heres a good thing to know. While there arent any reefs around here to worry about damaging, only military police have jurisdiction on the base beaches. Theres lots of stray live rock close to shore you can collect for personal use as long as you don't gain capital. I'm probably going to use the sand from Sunset Beach myself because I like the consistancy.
ahh i see. that could be done. hickam has some nice beaches. maybe kaneohe marine base too...but the sand thing, is it ok to collect straight off the shore? i read its wont be ideal and that the prime stuff is were the reefs are.
and also what if you live off base. my dad is retired.
and also what if you live off base. my dad is retired.
Well it depends what kind of sand you want. Personally I absolutely hate sugar sand because that stuff gets everywhere! I like the medium grain sand with a heavier weight so it doesn't stir so easily. I dont use it for a DSB, just for a natural look and for inhabitants.
Just take a small cooler to the beach, fill it halfway with water and snag a rock or two whenever you go to the beach. Its perfectly legal to take rubble but what constitutes as "rubble" wasn't clarified.
I'll post the website I got the information from in a moment.
Just take a small cooler to the beach, fill it halfway with water and snag a rock or two whenever you go to the beach. Its perfectly legal to take rubble but what constitutes as "rubble" wasn't clarified.
I'll post the website I got the information from in a moment.
I used to have a friend who lived in Hawaii, and the funny thing is they were jazzed about MY tank because of the huge diversity of life from all over the world I had.
Hawaii has very strict importing rules, I thought that it also applied to fish as well as inverts as well. "Reef building" Corals were forbidden to have as well.
Of course they also told me if they wanted to see a reef they'd throw on their snorkling gear and jump in the water
Hawaii has very strict importing rules, I thought that it also applied to fish as well as inverts as well. "Reef building" Corals were forbidden to have as well.
Of course they also told me if they wanted to see a reef they'd throw on their snorkling gear and jump in the water
It is a federal offense to import any type of marine invertebrate into Hawaii, including all corals, anemones, etc. This isn't a DLNR regulation - IIRC it's either dept. of agriculture or USF&W.
Locally collected zoanthids are legal to keep, but because of the live rock ban they must be removed from the substrate first.
Locally collected zoanthids are legal to keep, but because of the live rock ban they must be removed from the substrate first.
Gosh... Illegal to import... Fedral Offenses... Kinda weird. Dont get me wrong, I am all for protecting the reefs, but it seems like there has to be a better way. Last I checked, importation meant something was crossing international boarders, but going between mainland US or Alaska and Hawaii doesnt fit the definition if 'import' because its not going to or from a foreign country (unless you brought them from Japan or Australia). Just seems weird to me, because then it shouldnt be a Federal Crime either... it would be enforced by the state. I mean... name any other interstate travel law that is regulated by Federal Law. Its almost 'unconstitutional' because the 'United States' by definition arent supposed to have actual boarders... just governing districts. I could see if there was a State Law prohibiting ownership of certain things within a state, but regulating what goes across interstate boarders at a Federal level is unconstitutional.
I have a possible legal solution for you all adopted from those of us over by the Caribbean. While we cannot legally take Caribbean corals from the reef, it is my understanding that anything that grows on maricultured live rock is fair game. Someone mentioned before that there was someone growing live rock on Molokai. Chances are some of it has small coral polyps starting to grow on it. If you get this, technically you are not importing nor are you harvesting from the wild reef. It may be worth checking into.
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