That’s right. I was SO surprised to learn of this myself. It all started when I stumbled across a comment on SWF Beachlife’s YouTube video I was watching in early April where a viewer commented saying they heard it was illegal to take dead coral off Florida beaches. I just couldn’t believe that and did a fast google search and the info I initially found at www.myfwc.com was “not very clear.” From what I read it seemed to be speaking of rules governing the “commercial” harvest of corals. So confused that night of learning this I decided to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission myself in the morning to speak with someone who could clarify this for me.
The next morning I called and spoke with Lane Garrett from FWC Marine Fishery Management who kindly explained it all, and yes, it’s illegal to collect stony and fire corals even if they are dead from Florida beaches. There have been several Acts (laws) over the years passed to help in efforts to protect Florida’s 358 mile Reef Tract that spans from the Dry Tortugas to the St. Lucie Inlet. It can get confusing researching these laws, but in a nutshell this is what I found out:
According to the Florida Marine Resources Act (FMRA), it is illegal to take coral, living or dead, from Florida’s beaches and coral reefs. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 68B-42 (68B-42.009) says it unlawful to take or possess any coral, dead or alive, from the waters/beaches of Florida.
One of the latest protection measures Mr. Garrett spoke of was in 2009, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida’s Coral Reef Protection Act (CRPA) to increase protection of coral reef resources off the coasts of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties. The CRPA makes it illegal to anchor on or otherwise damage coral reefs in Florida.
In my poking around google to learn more I found one article in particular very helpful (where I learned about FMRA) and I refer my viewers to it in my YouTube video’s description where I encounter coral on my beach walks: https://florida-beaches-info.com/can-you-take-dead-coral-from-florida-beaches/
In all the social media shelling groups I’m in, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this before. On any given day you can see a lot of people posting their shell finds with dead stony corals. This law needs more awareness that is for sure. When speaking with Mr. Garrett I told him that they really need to start posting this coral law on beach signs because people just “don’t know”—to put it right there in conjunction where they have “no live shelling” they need to speak of not taking dead stony and fire corals. He actually said he would put that in for a request! So, who knows maybe one day we’ll start seeing it on Florida beach signs.
When you know better…you do better! Happy shelling!
Roxann Morin
YouTube.com/@FloridaBeachWalks