Sea dragon collecting...

[Vie]

I was watching a Thai game show (Faen Pan Tae) on television last night and the topic happened to be marine life "facts."

One of the questions involved sea dragons (Phycodurus eques, Phyllopteryx
taeniolatus) and the "fact" that only one person in the world is authorized to collect/catch them by the Australian government. Apparently most sea dragons exhibited in public aquariums originated from this person.

Anyone know if this is true? Any info?

 

[sea_dragon]

ummm i am not sure but i would like to find out....this is what one looks like... i searched it on the web.

 

[Vie]

They are very beautiful (and surprisingly big). I have seen a few Phyllopteryx taeniolatus on dives near Sydney. I have only seen Phycodurus eques in aquarium settings.

 

[sea_dragon]

how big are we talking... i just love all types of dragons weither mystical or real.... but i would really like to see a sea dragon

 

[sapphire]

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California,
breeds weedy sea dragons in captivity... see the excerpt from their website below:

The Tropical Pacific Gallery also features our seahorses and sea dragons. True to their descriptive names, both the leafy and weedy sea dragons have an almost surreal appearance characterized by unusual appendages that allow them to deftly camouflage themselves in seaweed. The Aquarium made husbandry history by being the first Aquarium in the world to successfully breed weedy sea dragon babies.

The babies are very cool to see!

Jennifer

 

[sea_dragon]

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California,
breeds weedy sea dragons in captivity... see the excerpt from their website below:

The Tropical Pacific Gallery also features our seahorses and sea dragons. True to their descriptive names, both the leafy and weedy sea dragons have an almost surreal appearance characterized by unusual appendages that allow them to deftly camouflage themselves in seaweed. The Aquarium made husbandry history by being the first Aquarium in the world to successfully breed weedy sea dragon babies.

The babies are very cool to see!

Jennifer

wow i would love to see and sea dragon either a baby or fully grown... do you know how big they can get??

 

[archman]

One of the questions involved sea dragons (Phycodurus eques, Phyllopteryx
taeniolatus) and the "fact" that only one person in the world is authorized to collect/catch them by the Australian government. Apparently most sea dragons exhibited in public aquariums originated from this person.

Even if this IS true, it's not realistic. Since there's virtually no enforcement over this sort of activity except in a tiny fraction of these things' habitat, any dude with a little hand net can collect all he wants.

Australia has no regulatory jurisdition outside it's EEZ.

 

[Vie]

how big are we talking... i just love all types of dragons weither mystical or real.... but i would really like to see a sea dragon

I did some Googling and found that apparently aquarium sea dragons are raised in captivity, then exported from Australia after reaching about half their adult size - they will reach full size in one to two years. Phycodurus eques may grow to around 14-16"/35-41 cm in length.

"One barrier to their acquisition by aquariums is the tremendous expense of feeding them - they feed on tiny live mysid shrimp by the hundreds, and one public aquarium biologist told me the tiny mysids cost up to 85 cents (U.S.) each to purchase."

http://www.divegallery.com/Leafy_Sea_Dragon_3.htm

According to the Aquarium of the Pacific:

"Our seadragons are now fed frozen mysid shrimp, but it has taken some time to convince them that frozen are as good as fresh."

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website, "leafy sea dragons are protected in both South and Western Australia, and additional laws are being considered to provide further protection from harassment. The South Australian government allows one brooding male to be collected each year. The captive-bred hatchlings are sent overseas for education and research programs..."

 

[sea_dragon]

Grabs his net... i am off to the ocean i am off to collect me a sea dragon that Arch

 

[Vie]

Australia has no regulatory jurisdition outside it's EEZ.

Well, since the sea dragons are only found in South and Western Australia, I would think that whatever laws they have can be enforced with regards to collecting.