• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

spawner

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Research Communications

Front. Ecol. Environ. 2006: 4(2) 75-79.

I'll post the abstract later tonight.

Basically saying that Caulerpa and Live Rock should be heavily regulated.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Tis true though. Nonone in Cali is allowed to sell Caulerpa, but, all the online places sell it and would send it to a Cali buyer any day of the week.
 

clarionreef

Advanced Reefer
Location
San Francisco
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Right,
It would be a shame to get in some nice calerpa....let it go by mistake in the San Franscisco Bay...and have it die overnight.
Sharks are banned in Arizona and Piranhas in Washington state.
The regulation of millions of small packages w/ DHL, FED-EX, UPS et al. would be an invasive policy and procedure that would alter the 99.99% of all legal and normal commerce.
Kinda like stopping all traffic heading North out of Florida to check for live rock in the spring break traffic.
The knee jerk call to regulate all things implies that there would be a link between the problem and the proposed remedy.
Steve
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
GreshamH":1n4mimvd said:
Nonone in Cali is allowed to sell Caulerpa, but, all the online places sell it and would send it to a Cali buyer any day of the week.

:roll:
 

FragMaster

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
cortez marine":2l4p91o0 said:
Right,
It would be a shame to get in some nice calerpa....let it go by mistake in the San Franscisco Bay...and have it die overnight.
Sharks are banned in Arizona and Piranhas in Washington state.
The regulation of millions of small packages w/ DHL, FED-EX, UPS et al. would be an invasive policy and procedure that would alter the 99.99% of all legal and normal commerce.
Kinda like stopping all traffic heading North out of Florida to check for live rock in the spring break traffic.
The knee jerk call to regulate all things implies that there would be a link between the problem and the proposed remedy.
Steve



:lol:
Very true.
 

spawner

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Linda J. Walters
Department of Biology, UCF, Orlando Florida [email protected]

Professional aquarist and hobbyists are thought to be the source of invasions of aquarium strain of the green macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia in the Mediterranean, southern California, and Australia. The US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (SUSDA-SPHIS) restricted interstate commerce and importation of the Mediterranean clone of C. taxifolia prior to the California invasion and is currently deciding if it should strengthen regulations of the genus as more species of Caulerpa are being described as invasive Here we document the importance of e-commerce as a mode of dispersal for many species of Caulerpa in the United States. We purchased Caulerpa from 30 Internet retailers and 60 Internet auction sites representing 25 states and Great Britain. Twelve different Caulerpa species were confirmed using DNA sequencing. Only 10.6% of sellers provided the correct genus and species names with their shipments. Thirty purchases of "live rock" provided four species of Caulerpa, as well as 53 additional marine species. Our results confirm the extensive e-commerce availability of this invasive genus and its high dispersal potential via postal services and hobbyists. We recommend that both eBay and the USDA maximize regulation of Caulerpa.

I typed this abstract out from the Journal as it is not online as of 3-10-06. So any typeos, (misspellings) are most likely mine.

I would suggest emailing the author and asking for a PDF reprint of the paper. I can make a PDF from the Journal but its not exactly legal to email it around.

It's a well conducted study, paper doesn't really take sides or make outrageous statements, the authors don't seem to be against the aquarium trade, more pointing out a source of concern. They do in their last paragraph discuss education as the best bet for prevention of releases.

Also I wonder why they authors were not at Marine Ornamentals in Las Vegas.

Personally I don't see any difference between online vs. LFS purchases of live rock or algae other than the interstate commerce part of it. So how does this effect live rock? I think that is the real question here.

Also, I think eBay needs someone on staff or contacted to check their auctions for species names and such used. May people sell snails and other animals under the wrong name to get higher prices.

This paper will be used by regulators and that is the most important thing about it.

Here is some Kalculations the authors use, to justify regulation.

"The $5 million spent on Caulerpa eradication in California would be equivalent to 142,857 purcahses of loose Caulerpa at an average of $35 per purchase. If 1% of these hobbyists dumped Caulerpa into nearby waters and 1% of these releases becamed established then at least $70 million (14 eradications X $5 million/reponse) will be required to achieve eradication. Pressuring eBay to eliminate all auctions of caulerpa and enchance federal regulation of Caulerpa would be considerable more cost-effective"
 

FragMaster

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
"Also, I think eBay needs someone on staff or contacted to check their auctions for species names and such used. May people sell snails and other animals under the wrong name to get higher prices.
"
Ya think? :D

This will never happen though. They want the item to sell for a high price.
The higher the price the better for ebay because they get a bigger cut.
I think that would be one HUGE undertaking.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
in the future, all species will be cosmopolitan for at least 15 minutes
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
JustPhish":2feo7fo7 said:
GreshamH":2feo7fo7 said:
Nonone in Cali is allowed to sell Caulerpa, but, all the online places sell it and would send it to a Cali buyer any day of the week.

:roll:

:roll: Guess your not oe of them then, huh? FWIW, most will, I've asked ;)

Being a marine farmer myself, I'd love to grow and sell it, but hey, I live in northern CA where it's cold. This stuff will take over in seconds according to CA F&G. Yup :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
most[/i] will, I've asked ;)

As a matter of fact that's right, what of it? What you posted was all of them would. I thought in this forum we were supposed to be smarter than that. I see now it only matters if one of the sides is casting stones. No one will tolerate someone who stereotypes the brick and mortar places...but all the BM whiners will think nothing of speaking out of the other side of their mouth and do the same to etail places.

FWIW, I have been on both sides of the fence...for a decent amount of time.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Whoa there, I truly ment no offense. Definilty not worth getting all worked up like in your post ;) I'm neither a B&M, nor an etailer. I freely roam all sides of the fence as well :D

FWIW, many CA LFS and wholesalers sell it as well. Being on the other side of the law, I chose not to sell it.
 

dizzy

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
All joking aside, I doubt any etailer is going to come here and admit that they are knowingly shipping out illegal species of caulerpa. By and large it sounds like more a crime of ignorance, than maliciousness. Instead of defensive posturing, it would be more helpful to discuss the possible ramifications of more restrictive legislation. Caulerpa can enter the trade via anything with an attached substrate. I've seen it pop up on wild and cultured live rock, and also on wild and cultured corals. About the only things that don't bring it in are the fish and mobile invertebrates. And even urchins and hermit crabs could be possible carriers. Allowing the trade in live rock and coral to continue, and stopping the entry of caulerpa into the country are mutually exclusive.
Mitch
 

clarionreef

Advanced Reefer
Location
San Francisco
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Andy,
To draw a line that crosses all the nations boundaries cannot be drawn.
To ban it and control it in the areas of relevance...ie. warmer areas where it actually has a chance to survive should be the focus.
For example....below what laditude in California could it conceiveably take hold?
In Mexico ...the fruit fly swat teams set up as you near the territory where the fly may actually set up shop....then the control zone is much, much smaller.
Why not do the same with the calerpa?
Steve
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
dizzy":3pdnvz8o said:
All joking aside, I doubt any etailer is going to come here and admit that they are knowingly shipping out illegal species of caulerpa. By and large it sounds like more a crime of ignorance, than maliciousness. Instead of defensive posturing, it would be more helpful to discuss the possible ramifications of more restrictive legislation. Caulerpa can enter the trade via anything with an attached substrate. I've seen it pop up on wild and cultured live rock, and also on wild and cultured corals. About the only things that don't bring it in are the fish and mobile invertebrates. And even urchins and hermit crabs could be possible carriers. Allowing the trade in live rock and coral to continue, and stopping the entry of caulerpa into the country are mutually exclusive.
Mitch


just for clarification, are you implying that b&ms that are, would?
 

dizzy

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
vitz":28d6bpw0 said:
dizzy":28d6bpw0 said:
All joking aside, I doubt any etailer is going to come here and admit that they are knowingly shipping out illegal species of caulerpa. By and large it sounds like more a crime of ignorance, than maliciousness. Instead of defensive posturing, it would be more helpful to discuss the possible ramifications of more restrictive legislation. Caulerpa can enter the trade via anything with an attached substrate. I've seen it pop up on wild and cultured live rock, and also on wild and cultured corals. About the only things that don't bring it in are the fish and mobile invertebrates. And even urchins and hermit crabs could be possible carriers. Allowing the trade in live rock and coral to continue, and stopping the entry of caulerpa into the country are mutually exclusive.
Mitch


just for clarification, are you implying that b&ms that are, would?

The US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (SUSDA-SPHIS) restricted interstate commerce and importation of the Mediterranean clone of C. taxifolia prior to the California invasion.

Read the part in red vitz and you shall find the clarification you seek. I don't know any true brick and mortars around here that ship out. I don't believe any local laws prohibit selling it so why would anyone feel the need to lie about it?
 

danieldm

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Unless the laws were changed recently, not all Caulerpa species are illegal in California. C. prolifera is fine anywhere in the State except San Diego County, they have a specific ordinance banning it as well. C. paspaloides (I know I killed the spelling) may not be on that list either, but I don't have the full list in front of me so it might be...but I don't remember seeing it.
 

sdcfish

Junior Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had attended a seminar at UC Davis to discuss the ban on this caulerpa that was causing such a havic on the Meditteranean. In attendance were representatives of many industries such at the Bait Industry, Flower Industry, Aquarium Industry, US Dept. of Agriculture, US Dept. of Fisheries, and someone representing cruise ships...maybe some others I can't remember any more. Marshall Myers of PIJAC and someone from Petco was also in attendance. I was the only Aquarium Marine wholesaler at the meeting.

It was discussed that dna would be the only possible way to absolutely know for sure which specie of caulerpa was the taxifolia, and that even though I had offered to send samples of what we had been regularly receiving from Indonesia, nobody was interested nor had the budget to test the dna...so my offer was not accepted.

It was later decided, and thanks in much to Pijac, that only "look-a-like" species would be banned. So red caulerpa was saved, and we didn't lose the whole group of species.

Very interesting workshop, but the point of invasive species and their impact was made loud and clear, and now I see more and more advertisements about it in our trade magazines......with the PIJAC stamp on those ad's.

We need to continue the education of the law, and let those know they are dealing in an illegal specie. Most really don't know about it....just us mainstream guys I suppose. So if you see an etailer or retailer with that specie...don't be afraid to mention it.

Best regards

Eric
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top