Caribbean corals in the hobby?

[poidog]

Wow! That’s a beautiful stag colony. I’ve never seen one on this side of the lake and I dive the Hillsboro/Everglades reefs quite frequently. I have seen them in Bimini, and obviously 10 foot tall elkhorn colonies.

would you be willing to share coordinates to this reef through a PM?

I know where there are fields of healthy stags...

 

[frater01]

Exactly!!! And I don’t understand it! We can hunt lion fish that are invasive but not this coral?

It’s the same reason the American alligator or the shovel nose sturgeon is listed. Because it’s very similar in appearance to actually endangered species. The average person has no clue the difference between a dead and live coral let alone what species of coral is what. So it’s all illegal. But totally agree. Elk horn and stag horn could be quickly saved from the brink of extinction if hobbyists got a hold of it. Federal government is incompetent when it comes to rearing endangered species. Give it to a hobbyist though and the will have that figured out over night. I wish at the very least NOAA would issue permits to private Aquarists to keep these corlas as refuge populations.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It’s the same reason the American alligator or the shovel nose sturgeon is listed. Because it’s very similar in appearance to actually endangered species. The average person has no clue the difference between a dead and live coral let alone what species of coral is what. So it’s all illegal. But totally agree. Elk horn and stag horn could be quickly saved from the brink of extinction if hobbyists got a hold of it. Federal government is incompetent when it comes to rearing endangered species. Give it to a hobbyist though and the will have that figured out over night. I wish at the very least NOAA would issue permits to private Aquarists to keep these corlas as refuge populations.

I don't really agree with that assessment. NOAA is partnering with public aquariums to develop disease protocols and to develop assurance populations (salvage) of many corals. Check out the work by the Florida Aquarium and Mote.

THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM SENDS UNIQUE PILLAR CORALS TO OCEAN IN CRITICAL CONSERVATION STEP: Pillar coral offspring to be held at Coral Restoration Foundation Ocean-Based Nursery - The Florida Aquarium

Tampa, FL (May 31, 2023): For the first time ever, offspring of the threatened Atlantic pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus), produced from spawning using lab-induced techniques and raised in an aquarium, have made their way back into waters of the Florida...

www.flaquarium.org

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has a huge coral restoration project that has done a lot of great work.