> I think if you ask for specifics more often than not you'll get a
> "don't collect anything" sort of law because that's the easiest way for
> them to deal with it. I say this on the assumption that fish collection
> laws originate from someone asking for clarification. I think that's
> how you end up with stupid laws that allow for collection for bait but
> not for aquariums.
Mark could be right,-in-least for some states. It sure makes things
interesting!
After thinking about this a tiny bit I think pushing for a separate
license for aquarium fish collecting is going to be problematic due to the
buracracy involved in setting this up and printing them and making them
available when they may only sell a few of them in a year relative to
fishing licenses. I think it would be better to push for clearer
regulations under the existing standard fishing license. Something that
specifically stated that fish can be collected for home aquaria rather
than only as bait.
Irrespective of what approach someone wanted to take, I'd suggest picking
one or two states that are likely to be sympathetic to this line of
thinking. If you are able to get one or two states to address this in a
positive way you may be far more likely to get a sucessful response from
other states. To try and do all states-in-once is impossible, and none of
the western states will allow anything to be collected for aquaria
irrespective of what anyone says or tries to change. This is mostly
because much of the fauna is already threatened and the current laws
pretty clearly prohibit collecting for aquaria.
Tootles
Peter Unmack
Provo River, Utah
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