I began collecting natives when I lived in AZ. I never bothered to
check into the laws for *keeping* natives because I never collected in
AZ and none of the fish I had were native to AZ so I thought I was in
the clear.
It's been a while, so I can't remember all the particulars, but I was
on the phone discussing keeping north american fish with a game and
fish officer (note to self: Don't do this again!)
He informed me that if he knew who I was, he would confiscate all my
fish because I couldn't keep NA natives in AZ without a scientific
permit and since he was the one who issued these permits, he could
tell me that I wouldn't get one. He said that this was to prevent
introduction of nuisance species .
I asked him about all the fish in the local fish stores that I knew
could survive and cause troubles (snakeheads, plecos, goldfish, koi,
any number of cichlids, etc). He told me that none of them could
survive in AZ so they weren't a problem, but NA natives were a real
problem.
I ended the conversation as fast as I could, but I couldn't help be
impressed by the depths of his ignorance.
I'm also not saying that NA natives can't cause problems, because they
can. I was just amazed-in-how little he understood about how many
'tropical' fish could do just fine in AZ waters.
Fortunately, I left the state shortly after this and I've been much
more careful to understand all the aspects of the laws regarding
native fish.
Geoff Kimber
Murfreesboro, TN
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