Collecting in west palm!

[gadgetguy1288]

so for spring break down here in brevard county i am going to west palm beach to go collecting for my senior project(tht was the original plan for my tank) but i was wondering if anyone knew of any good spots you can get with out a boat, i know my father and one of his friends used to go up under wanna the bridges down there, but i dont remember exactally where and i seeing as how my dads not around anymore he cant really tell me, so i just wanted to know if any one had any tips or locations or just general feed back, thnx

[gadgetguy1288]

any advice? im only going for one day, kinda sux but i dont have the money to stay overnight so hopefully i get good weather and clear water

[aquaman3680]

never been there so I cant tell you much, just a little advise, be careful what you pick to put in the tank as it could introduce diseases and other things into the tank that you dont want!

Matt

[Dentoid]

When I was younger my father and I would dive off the shores of West Palm Beach. Ft. Pierce about 30 miles out. There was a boat wreck in 100 feet of water. I collected some great specimens when we dove at 30 feet. Rock Beauty angels, blue headed wrasses and Queen angels. I was young and no one told me that I had to decompress the fish slower than I decompressed. When I got to the surface, their swim bladders had exploded! The only ones that didn't were the blue headed wrasses. I was crushed because it was our only dive that trip and I felt so bad for the fish. The next time I tied the collection bag to the anchor line and they were slowly raised.

There is a great little reef off just of shore in Bradenton/Sarasota called Point of Rocks. You can snorkel right out to it and it's beautiful. That's on the other side of the state though. You should go there if you ever get a chance. Hope you find a place. Happy collecting!

[cracker]

Originally Posted by gadgetguy1288

so for spring break down here in brevard county i am going to west palm beach to go collecting for my senior project(tht was the original plan for my tank) but i was wondering if anyone knew of any good spots you can get with out a boat, i know my father and one of his friends used to go up under wanna the bridges down there, but i dont remember exactally where and i seeing as how my dads not around anymore he cant really tell me, so i just wanted to know if any one had any tips or locations or just general feed back, thnx

gadget, depends on what you want to collect. You could try around a public marina or boat ramp. Look carefully around the docks or seawalls. Take your time at a spot. A can of cat food or tuna will attract all kinds of fish & such. Now actually capturing a fish is not so easy! They can see you as well as you see them and they are a LOT faster! A minnow trap like this is cheap put some fresh dead shrimp. Set it in a likely spot and come back latter.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...s.com/Category
It's important to have a proper container & a battery operated airstone with a lid. Any critter You collect deserves a chance. One last most important issue, Please don't put anything from the wild in a tank with exotic fishes or corals. Your just asking for trouble. Here is what the state of Fl says about collecting.
RECREATIONAL HARVESTING INFORMATION FOR MARINE LIFE SPECIES

[MR PALM BEACH]

that bridge mite be the Blue Herion Bridge, I go snorkling there pretty much every other day. they have some ship wrecked sailboats which in my eyes turned into reefs. Everything I can get at my LFS is at my finger tips there. Trying to catch It Is anouther story, but Its all in about 4 feet of water so nothing deep. My son just brought home about 30 blue leg hermits and a bunch of LR tonight.

[DrHank]

Make sure that you check the Florida fishing regulations. You will probably need a fishing license and there are specific laws which apply. Florida strictly enforces them too. They have been known to confiscate equipment, gear and even boats. Just a word to the wise. Happy collecting!

[MR PALM BEACH]

Ya your probably right, thats the last thig I need Is all my gear taken. The dumb part of It Is there Is always an enviramental/law enforcement guy that Is allways driveing around, I think hes got the same rights as a normal police officer I want to say. Im going to talk to him next I go just to be on the safe side.

[cutnup]

mr. palm beach,
do you still dive there? i jsut got a hooka rig for lobster season. so we have mini season nest week and a 2 week break till regular season. so ill probably want to dive in between and do some collecting. i see alot of wrasses (slippery dick's) angels and tang (kole,and gold rims)up here. do you find any shrimp down there? my friend went down there and got a bunch of blue legs at peanut island...ok im getting to excited and now im just babbling.

[Melanie]

Here is a link to what you are allowed to collect in Florida waters WITH a FL Fishing license. You can also purchase your license on this website and I highly suggest it because they can and WILL confiscate your equipment and also can stick you with a hefty fine.

FL Recreational Harvesting of Ornamental Marine Life Species

[lcstorc]

This is from the link in post #5. It is the law governing what you can and cannot remove. The entire doc is important but since someone mentioned taking live rock I felt I had to put this area right in the post.


License Requirement: A Florida recreational saltwater fishing license (resident or non-resident, whichever is applicable).
Closed Seasons: None.
Closed Areas: The harvest of these species is generally allowed wherever recreational fishing is allowed. However, the harvest of marine life species or the use of the gear allowed to take these species may be limited or prohibited in state or federal parks, national wildlife refuges, and portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Interested persons should contact those park areas for further information.
Prohibited Species: All harvest is prohibited of the following species:
Live rock, Bahama starfish (Oreaster reticulatis), longspine urchin (Diadema antillarum), Venus sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum), common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina), any hard or stony coral (Order Scleractinia), or any fire coral (Genus Millepora).
Allowable Harvesting Gear:

• Hand Collection.
• "Hand held net," means a landing or dip net, except that a portion of the bag may be constructed of clear plastic material, rather than mesh.
• "Barrier net," also known as a "fence net," means a seine used beneath the surface of the water by a diver to enclose and concentrate tropical fish and which may be made of either nylon or monofilament.
• "Drop net," means a small, usually circular, net with weights attached along the outer edge and a single float in the center, used by a diver to enclose and concentrate tropical fish.
• "Slurp gun" means a self-contained, handheld device that captures tropical fish by rapidly drawing seawater containing such fish into a closed chamber.

[Melanie]

Whoops, cracker beat me to it!

I want to collect some things too. I'm in Naples and the water in the Gulf is too murky to even see 6" in front of you.

[boozeman]

wow...the slurp gun sounds really cool, I want one

[mps9506]

Originally Posted by boozeman

wow...the slurp gun sounds really cool, I want one

Think reverse potato gun I got to play with one while spear fishing off the NC coast.

One thing to keep in mind I saw someone post their son collected some live rock in Fl. This is VERY VERY illegal there. And I'm pretty sure that is one of the rules they are very tough on as I've seen stories of many collectors get put out of business because of harvesting small amounts of live rock with their R.florida colonies.

[lcstorc]

Prohibited Species: All harvest is prohibited of the following species:
Live rock, Bahama starfish (Oreaster reticulatis), longspine urchin (Diadema antillarum), Venus sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum), common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina), any hard or stony coral (Order Scleractinia), or any fire coral (Genus Millepora).
I can't stress it enough. They get really serious if they catch you.