'hold my beer and watch this!'

[hatidua]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=741154239256283

(the lack of an HMS permit is likely going to make things more than a little interesting but it's still a unique occurrence)

[BushMasterBoy]

Islamorada is a small drinking village...with a fishing problem! (local bumper sticker) I miss that place...

[newracer]

It is also an illegal method of take.

[BushMasterBoy]

It is legal, as tuna not regulated in Florida.

See... http://ocean.floridamarine.org/boating_guides/florida_keys/pages/fishing_regulations.html

[spqrzilla]

There is a tuna sandwich ready for assembly.

[hatidua]

It is legal, as tuna not regulated in Florida.

See... http://ocean.floridamarine.org/boating_guides/florida_keys/pages/fishing_regulations.html

-not even remotely legal - HMS (highly migratory species) are federally regulated, not state. (https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/faqs.asp#faq40)

I have no qualms about what transpired in that video but I'm not sure of the wisdom in making that afternoons activities public... I'm not sure the fish in question is 100% healthy either: a YFT swimming around in 6' of muddy dock water is about as common as wild polar bears in Arizona.

[BushMasterBoy]

I knew some misinformed soul would bring this up. The fed regs apply to fishing vessels only. As to Florida, fishing from the shore of a saltwater body does not require a fishing license. If you are fishing from a vessel (boat) does require a license. If you sell any saltwater products, you need a saltwater products license. You got a boat and fishing you need a license! Fishing from the dock, NO license required. If you are fishing from a public freshwater lake, you need a license.
This happened in the Florida Keys, huge tidal currents here. By huge, I mean extremely fast. All sorts of fish get caught in these currents and end up in the bays, inlets etc.
I worked for an aquarium that specialized in supply tropical fish world wide. We dove all along the southeast coast of Florida. We supplied universities with certain species used in medical research. For instance, if you damage a nurse sharks kidneys, it will regenerate the kidney. Sort of a planaria effect. Or a human liver, you can remove a large portion and it will regrow.
So if you go to the beach in Florida to fish, you don't need a license. If you go on a commercial fishing tour boat to fish you don't need a license because the boat is licensed as a commercial fishing vessel. If you take a private boat fishing in Florida saltwater (ocean), you need a license and there are catch limits. The enforcement arm is called "Florida Marine Patrol".

If you think I am full of BS you can call these guys and I quote:

Q: If I witness a violation of NMFS regulations, how do I report it?
A: Please call the 24-hour NMFS Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. You may also call the U.S. Coast Guard Hotline at (800) SAVE-FISH. You do not need to give your name when you call.

PS. There is an exception to the Florida fishing license. Active duty military just present .mil ID

Correction! I just checked the regs for Florida fishing license, damn near everybody needs a fishing license if you are aged 16-65. If you are exempt for disabilty, food stamps etc. you can get a free license, but you still need a license.

[ThunderSquirrel]

Tuna are unregulated in the state of Florida, along with a crap ton of other fish.

http://www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/unregulated-species/

[sniper7]

Fish was probably on its way out anyways, good for those guys for scoring some awesome meals!

[hatidua]

I knew some misinformed soul would bring this up. The fed regs apply to fishing vessels only.

That's not quite how it goes, read the whole page, including the part about state waters: http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/highly-migratory-species/

Then, if you research the federal rules, catching them, EVEN WITH AN HMS PERMIT is only allowed FROM a permitted vessel. Any incidental catch, even from shore, must be immediately released (somewhat difficult with three gaff's in it).

This happened a while back when someone pulled the same stunt with a BFT from shore and the fine made for about the most expensive tuna in history.

-but go on down and hook a few from the beach, apparently its just fine...

[BushMasterBoy]

It is the "selling" of the fish that is illegal without the permit. If they just put the fish in the freezer and ate it, perfectly legal. We used to get all kinds of inspectors at the aquarium. To top it off, we used a drug to tranquilize the fish and it had to be stored in a locked refrigerator.

Link to the expensive tuna...

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-08-16/sports/fl-tuna-violations-0817-20130816_1_tuna-atlantic-bluefin-commercial-purposes

[newracer]

I guess it depends on what type of tuna it is.

[brutal]

A client told me recently he caught a tuna on a commercial boat 40-50 miles offshore that would have paid off his mortgage when sold.

15 minutes before they could make it back to the dock, the "season" was closed and they had to release it.

[hatidua]

It is the "selling" of the fish that is illegal without the permit. If they just put the fish in the freezer and ate it, perfectly legal.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/NMFHMS_zps0967a7a2.jpg

I bought my HMS permit year after year after year, not because I enjoyed giving the government money, but because I wanted to give them less money, not more.


It is the "selling" of the fish that is illegal without the permit. If they just put the fish in the freezer and ate it, perfectly legal.

License-to-sell is a different critter than simply keeping for personal consumption but both require the annual tag. Catching/keeping an HMS off a dock is a no-no regardless of whether you want to sell it or not - and FL does not get a federal exemption on HMS species (that's akin to saying you can shoot elk, out of season, in downtown Denver as long as you don't want to sell it).


We used to get all kinds of inspectors at the aquarium. To top it off, we used a drug to tranquilize the fish and it had to be stored in a locked refrigerator.

You had BFT/YFT and billfish (or any HMS species) in your aquarium?


Link to the expensive tuna...

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-08-16/sports/fl-tuna-violations-0817-20130816_1_tuna-atlantic-bluefin-commercial-purposes

That's not the one I was thinking back to but that one certainly cost a whole lot more than I've ever paid for my annual HMS permit.

[sniper7]

You had BFT/YFT and billfish (or any HMS species) in your aquarium?

.

doesnt everybody? They are at petsmart all the time[Coffee]

[BushMasterBoy]

https://www.facebook.com/randall.spain.9

here...you turn em in

and no tuna or any oceanic size fish in the aquarium...most were under five inches

Kinda sucks that you can't get a permit without a boat...as permits as only issued to a vessel...I guess you could always claim your boat sank with all your guns on board too...

[ThunderSquirrel]

Enlightening for me. I was under the impression you only needed the permit for vessel fishing, not that it was ONLY vessel fishing allowed.

[kidicarus13]

Link to the expensive tuna...


http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/07/japan-worlds-most-expensive-fish-sold-for-1-8-million/