caulerpa illegal in California????

[calihawker]

I was at my local supplier yesterday hoping to get some cuttings of their caulerpa for my 'fuge when the guy there informed my that caulerpa was illegal to posess or trade in several states including florida and california.
I didn't think to ask at the time what he was doing "possessing"
quite a substantial amount in his 120 gallon display tank in the front of the store.

Is this true??

Steve

[[G]h0S'][']

Yep, it's true, caulerpa is illegal here. But, you can always use chaetomorpha for your refugium. You can always find some on ebay or here on RC, plenty of people selling it. I have a mix of both grape and prolifera with my chaetomorpha. The problem i found with the caulerpa (especially grape) is that it will sooner or later outgrow your needs...trust me, it really overgrows!!!!!

[AQUAN8TOR]

Not to mention about the grape that it is very prone to going into sexual-reproductive mode and dissolving.

On a different note, I thought the regulations were a little more species specific--e.g. selective species of caulerpa, and were only on the trade of caulerpa, not the posession. I could be wrong. fwiw.

[stevemc]

Try #3 server too busy(reef centrals) I live in Florida and have not heard that one. We have many types of Caulerpa. No problem with them. I have the present laws and they state for recreational purposes you can possess 1 gallon of Caulerpa on the water. Max of 2 gallons in possesion. I dont think I take out more than a guart max when I clean out the sump. In West Palm Beach there is something going on with an exotic specie of Caulerpa that was picked up by a frieghter with water for ballast. Let us know if anyone finds out about Florida and Caulerpa. As far as using it for a sump algae, it is great. Chatemorphea might be great, but I have used Caulerpa for a while and it grows good and you just harvest it as it grows. I have not had it go into the tank. I guess it could if you didnt have a barrier, but so could any other type of plant, if you didnt have a good way to keep it out of the pump. Steve.

[marduc]

Yes, all species of Caulerpa are illegal in California, which is a shame since it's just one species that is the problem child, Caulerpa Taxifolia.

The ban for the entire genus Caulerpa was because California lawmakers in their infinite wisdom decided that it may be too difficult to differentiate between Taxifolia and other Caulerpa species since they all look so similar .

As far as Florida though, the only species banned here is the species covered by the national noxious weeds listing: Taxifolia, all others are fine.

Here is an Article briefly outlying a few of the salient points of the ban, not the best I found while researching this the other day... but I can't find the other info, and need to run soon.

If you live in California and are influenced by this ban, I urge you to get in touch with your state legislature and enlightening them to the diversity of Caulerpa species that do not resemble Taxifolia which have become restricted as a result of this ill thought out and poorly researched "blanket" ban.

[GDW]

Greetings All!

AB1334 was acted upon long ago. Here's the current law:

CALIFORNIA CODES
FISH AND GAME CODE
SECTION 2300

2300. (a) No person shall sell, possess, import, transport,
transfer, release alive in the state, or give away without
consideration the salt water algae of the Caulerpa species:
taxifolia, cupressoides, mexicana, sertulariodes, floridana,
ashmeadii, racemosa, verticillata, and scapelliformis.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person may possess, for
bona fide scientific research, as determined by the department, upon authorization by the department, the salt water algae of the Caulerpa species: taxifolia, cupressoides, mexicana, sertulariodes, floridana, ashmeadii, racemosa, verticillata, and scapelliformis.
(c) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person
who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of not less
than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) for each violation.

You can begin to search the California Legal maze through http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html .

[beefcake]

WHy the hell would they ban calurpa ? Do people smoke it to get high or something ?

[m0ns00n]

Thank you GDW. If you look on GDW's post you'll see that certain species only of Caulepra have been banned.

[rxdi]

The reason they banned it was because someone was cleaning out their tank that lives in Huntington harbor. They dumped their old water with some caulerpa into the harbor. It started growing throughout the harbor and took several months for divers get rid of it. They had to get tarps and put them along the bottom and would put chlorine tablets under them to kill it. Huntington harbor feeds a marine sanctuary and they had to stop the caulerpa before it spread to it. had

[Medaka]

Wow, I'm a criminal.

[five.five-six]

Originally Posted by rxdi

The reason they banned it was because someone was cleaning out their tank that lives in Huntington harbor. They dumped their old water with some caulerpa into the harbor. It started growing throughout the harbor and took several months for divers get rid of it. They had to get tarps and put them along the bottom and would put chlorine tablets under them to kill it. Huntington harbor feeds a marine sanctuary and they had to stop the caulerpa before it spread to it. had

I’m guilty and I didn’t know any better but even dumping it in the toilet back in the 80’s it would get through the sewage treatment and start up out there. Invasive spices.

[JZinCO]

Also illegal to import into the US or sell across state lines (Noxious Weeds Act).

[JZinCO]

Originally Posted by marduc

The ban for the entire genus Caulerpa was because California lawmakers in their infinite wisdom decided that it may be too difficult to differentiate between Taxifolia and other Caulerpa species since they all look so similar .

From two studies.
A FORENSIC AND PHYLOGENETIC SURVEY OF CAULERPA SPECIES (CAULERPALES,
CHLOROPHYTA) FROM THE FLORIDA COAST, LOCAL AQUARIUM SHOPS, AND
E-COMMERCE: ESTABLISHING A PROACTIVE
BASELINE FOR EARLY DETECTION

Abstract: ". Surveys in central Florida and southern California of 4100 saltwater aquarium shops and 90 internet sites revealed that >50% sold Caulerpa. Of the 14 Caulerpa species encountered, Caulerpa racemosa was the most common, followed by Caulerpa sertularioides, Caulerpa prolifera, Caulerpa mexicana, and Caulerpa serrulata. None of the 4180 field-collected individuals (representing 13 species) was the invasive strain of Caulerpa taxifolia or C. racemosa. With one exception (a sample of C. racemosa from a shop in southern California belonged to the invasive Clade III strain), no invasive strains were found in saltwater aquarium stores in Florida or on any of the internet sites. Although these results are encouraging, we recommend a ban on the sale of all Caulerpa species (including ‘‘live rock’’) because: morphological identification of Caulerpa species is unreliable (412% misidentification rate) and invasive strains can only be identified by their aligned DNA sequences, and because the potential capacity for invasive behavior in other Caulerpa species is far from clear"

6 years later...
Effectiveness of the California State Ban on the Sale of Caulerpa Species in Aquarium Retail Stores in Southern California
Abstract: "The invasion of the aquarium strain of the green alga Caulerpa taxifolia and subsequent alteration of community structure in the Mediterranean Sea raised awareness of the potential for non-native seaweeds to impact coastal communities. An introduction of C. taxifolia in southern California in 2000, presumably from the release of aquarium specimens, cost ~$7 million for eradication efforts. Besides C. taxifolia, other Caulerpa species being sold for aquarium use also may have the potential to invade southern Californian and U.S. waters. Surveys of the availability of Caulerpa species in southern California aquarium retail stores in 2000–2001 revealed that 26 of 50 stores sold at least one Caulerpa species (52 %) with seven stores selling C. taxifolia. In late 2001, California imposed a ban on the importation, sale, or possession of nine Caulerpa species; the City of San Diego expanded these regulations to include the entire genus. To determine the effectiveness of the California ban, we resurveyed Caulerpa availability at 43 of the 50 previously sampled retail stores in southern California in ~2006, ~4 years following the ban. Of the 43 stores, 23 sold Caulerpa (53 %) with four stores selling C. taxifolia. A χ2 test of frequency of availability before and after the California ban suggests that the ban has not been effective and that the aquarium trade continues to represent a potential vector for distributing Caulerpa specimens, including C. taxifolia. This study underscores the need for increased enforcement and outreach programs to increase awareness among the aquarium industry and aquarium hobbyists.

I paste these two to show that the industry can't reliably identify species. I know, it sucks. It's on us to email these folks and say "actually, what you're selling is...". It's especially bad when stores try to get cutesy with macroalgae names as if these are zoas.
It is also important to note that we cannot predict with any reliability what species will become invasive. It depends on the traits of the would-be invader, the traits and structure of the receiving community, and the environmental conditions (salinity, ph, temp, etc). Since Caulerpa share many traits, it is precautionary to assume those traits which allow for successful invasion may be shared across congeners. The nice thing about precautionary, is it holds until it can be discarded. But we don't have an industry organization that funds research for the benefit of the hobby...