An odd question about using the Ocean to grow frags

[mikebeasley]

Has anyone living near an ocean or known anyone to set frags up somewhere in the water and let their frags grow then retrieve them? I'm not talking about dumping tons of rocks in the ocean which is illegal to make a reef etc etc. I'm just wondering if anyone ever let the ocean develop their frags naturally (and free).Obviously space isn't a problem either.I would imagine you'd have to have a small area you remembered where they were and some way to prevent them from blowing away.Maybe in some kind of box that let water and light in.I don't know just a thought and was thinking maybe it would grow faster in the natural setting.

[saltycreefer]

You should probably only do that with native species.

[toddlaco]

It's called "Mariculture".

There are many businesses doing it already in places like Indonesia..... I am not aware of any non-commercial individuals doing it though.

Do a Google search for Mariculture and you will probably find info on it.

[firebirdbandit]

You could only do that with native species. I'm not sure about the legality of doing that with non-native species because that is like releasing a non-native species into the environment. What if the corals breed and overtake native species etc.

[mikebeasley]

good point, and im not sure what native species would be worth doing it for.I'm sure most "interesting" coral are from across the world or somewhere

[RokleM]

Not to mention potentially releasing nasties (red bugs, FW, AEFW, etc) into your local environment where they might not exist. I would have to vote that idea 2 thumbs down.

[jman77]

"idea 2 thumbs down."

Ditto ... don't put non-native species directly in our seas. Places like ORA get their water from saltwater wells grow the corals in greenhouse, then the waste water gets sanitized of ALL life. So there is no chance of introducing anything to our seas that way

... please be responsible .

[Ken668]

The same thing is happening with Lion fish along the East coast. At some point, a hobbyist or store released a pair into the ocean in Florida. Not only did they survive, but they are thriving! Since they have no natural predators, their population has exploded recently. Even two weeks ago when I was down in the Bahamas, I saw 5 (two babies) on a dive trip.

So case-in-point, not a good idea.

[ashrem]

Outside of the issues of non-native species, how about theft? Hey lookie what I found a bunch of corals on plugs, lucky day...

[TriniReefer]

wow thats a crazy story about the lionfish. why dont they do that with corals?like different kinds?

[acroman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8800637#post8800637 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TriniReefer
wow thats a crazy story about the lionfish. why dont they do that with corals?like different kinds?

because we dont want invasive coral species. we have enough problems with our corals, that we dont need to worry about competition with invasive species that grow much faster/have no predators/release toxins/higher fecundity.

[Sk8r]

Also, you'd be setting them, in effect, in the ocean's skimming zone.