Puerto Rico Corals?

Mojo Jojo · #1 01/08/2008, 12:29 AM

Two Q's hope you guys can help. Puerto Rico trip is not till' spring break

1. Will it be illegal to bring corals from there? In the case of there being corals of coarse.

2. By any chance will you happen to know of something rare that may come on that side of the ocean?

nano mania · #2 01/08/2008, 01:13 AM

I'm pretty sure that's illegal without an importer licence. You're not allowed to bring live goods across the border.
Ever tried to bring a dog from another country. It's kept in quarantine for like 3 months.

Pufferpunk · #3 01/08/2008, 01:15 AM

Corals/fish are different. You need to find if you might be removing corals from a protected reef though. HUGE fines for that!

Mojo Jojo · #4 01/08/2008, 01:25 AM

Nano - Well see thats why I figured I'd ask. PR belongs to the US and is considered to be US soil. Maybe I should try Reef Discussion? I dont want to try anything illegal.

Puffer - If anything they will come from a store. A vacation there and spending time trying to take things yourself is a waist of vacation

Pufferpunk · #5 01/08/2008, 01:28 AM

I found this in Roatan. It took all I had, not to grab it out of the ocean & take it home:

I really wanted that one in my tank!

Mojo Jojo · #6 01/08/2008, 01:36 AM

Looks sweet! I could only picture the color on it up close

<<< thats me right now lol

Pufferpunk · #7 01/08/2008, 01:39 AM

Some kinda scoly I'm guessing?

Mojo Jojo · #8 01/08/2008, 01:47 AM

Looks like it pretty nice one too ... I sure wish I lived on the coasts those guys get some nice cherry picks before we get the leftovers

pescadero · #9 01/08/2008, 01:49 AM

yes, PR is part of the US. i didn't need a passport to go in/out of PR when i was there. of course, it still may be illegal to pull up parts of the reef. i don't know where you'd go to check on that.

bassist6108 · #10 01/08/2008, 08:41 AM

I'm pretty sure it's illegal... the reefs we snorkeled a few weeks ago there all said they were protected, but that was also off of Culebra and not the main island. So, maybe not the best example, but may hold true on the main island, too.

Caragol · #11 01/08/2008, 09:29 AM

When you're down... it may be too booked, but yeah, Culebra and Vieques are need-to-sees. Mosquito Bay on Vieques has a phosphorescent dinoflagellate that washes into the bay but doesn't wash out. It makes the whole bay glow like a halloween lightstick when it's disturbed. Because of this you can see fish swimming under the water in the dark of night because the water around them glows. They let you swim in it and everything, it's really amazing.

http://www.biobay.com/

Flint&Eric · #12 01/08/2008, 09:36 AM

joe, i think it would be responsible of you to not bring anything back, jmo.

if you truly are interested in it, i would go to the fish and wildlife webste and see the restrictions etc. i know stonies are a big no no, but you may be able to bring back some inverts.

mnestroy · #13 01/08/2008, 09:57 AM

Check out the US Customs website, has some info

http://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs....er/std_alp.php

search for fish, or coral.

To be sure I'd email them and the airline your flying.

bassist6108 · #14 01/08/2008, 11:48 AM

Yeah, the other problem is with the amount of water you can carry on during a flight - 3 oz. And if you check it, they may drain the bags anyway. This happened to an LFS owner I know even after they received all the appropriate paperwork to bring back in the live corals with water.

Mojo Jojo · #15 01/08/2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bassist6108
Yeah, the other problem is with the amount of water you can carry on during a flight - 3 oz. And if you check it, they may drain the bags anyway. This happened to an LFS owner I know even after they received all the appropriate paperwork to bring back in the live corals with water.

Ok that just about sums everything for me

Thanks for the help everyone! I guess I'll just go enjoy the stay