Collection of Hard Corals in the Gulf

[signal_4]

Logan ... the reason you needed a permit is because of Kevin Strychar !! LOL No really its probably because you were collecting for research or if you were out at the rigs it was because you were in federal waters. Im telling yall myself and and James Davis had lengthy convos with TPWD and US fish and Wildlife.... If there is something protecting it ...it is double super secret hidden away...If any one finds something plz let us know. The permits that I mentioned earlier were also issued by TPWD but applied for collecting out at the rigs in federal waters by boat.

[ShAgMaN]

I know that in Florida, the collector I dove with took hard coral collection seriously. I went diving with a commercially licensed collector and picked up an SPS for him. I didn't know the laws, but once he recognized the coral he quickly threw it out of the boat. Sucks, cause the coral was unique, but I should have know better. There's a good reason for this protection, there wasn't many out there....unlike gorgs.

[Squiers007]

Logan ... the reason you needed a permit is because of Kevin Strychar !! LOL No really its probably because you were collecting for research or if you were out at the rigs it was because you were in federal waters. Im telling yall myself and and James Davis had lengthy convos with TPWD and US fish and Wildlife.... If there is something protecting it ...it is double super secret hidden away...If any one finds something plz let us know. The permits that I mentioned earlier were also issued by TPWD but applied for collecting out at the rigs in federal waters by boat.

You may be right... but honestly I have been diving on those jetties several times and there is so little of that coral present that I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone collecting it even if it were only a few people. There just isn't enough of it out there.

[Third Coast Tropical]

there is so little of that coral present that I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone collecting it even if it were only a few people. There just isn't enough of it out there.

well said