Find information about the licenses and permits required to commercially culture marine ornamentals in Florida.

Ornamental Fish and Invertebrates

The production of marine ornamental fish and invertebrates has greatly increased since the first production of clownfish in the 1970s. Commonly aquacultured marine ornamentals include clownfish, dottybacks, cardinalfish, gobies and seahorses. Recent research advancements include production methods for a variety of wrasse, tangs, angelfish, and invertebrates such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

Licenses and Permits

If you are interested in commercially culturing marine life species in Florida, you must apply for an Aquaculture Certificate of Registration and comply with Aquaculture Best Management Practices [ 960.9 kB ] . 

Marine life aquaculturists must include their Aquaculture Certificate of Registration number on all sale or transfer-of-ownership paperwork (receipts, bills of lading, invoices, etc.). Aquaculturists are required to include their Aquaculture Certificate of Registration number on product packaging as well. 

Corals

Land-based aquaculture of both hard and soft corals is a growing segment of marine ornamental production. Production typically involves taking cuttings or fragments of parent colonies and allowing them to grow to market size. Regulations related to the harvest, possession and sale of native Atlantic and Caribbean hard corals limit production to Indo-Pacific species, but research is being conducted to explore opportunities to culture native corals for restoration purposes.

Live Rock

Live rock consists of living marine plants and animals growing on the surface and within the crevices of porous calcareous rock. Encrustation consists of sponges, algae, anemones, marine worms, tunicates, bryozoans and a variety of other microflora and fauna.

Cultured live rock can be harvested and sold with attached, naturally occurring marine life. Live rock in an aquarium creates an instant reef of varied life forms, and the macro- and microbiotic components maintain water quality. 

Live rock aquaculturists deposit fossilized, quarried rock on submerged land leases to provide a substrate for the recruitment of encrusting species. Rock placed in water that is too shallow becomes an attachment site for undesirable algae, and many sites have experienced damage and loss due to algal blooms and tropical weather systems. Some producers have moved their live rock production into land-based greenhouses to avoid losses due to storms and other environmental factors.

Requirements for Culturing Live Rock in Florida

In addition to possessing an Aquaculture Certificate of Registration and complying with Aquaculture Best Management Practices [ 960.9 kB ] , live rock aquaculturists must meet the following requirements:

On State Submerged Land

To commercially culture live rock in Florida waters:

• You must possess a sovereign submerged land lease.
• You must provide the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) with a sample and lithographic description of the artificial or natural rock substrate you plan to deposit.
  • The substrate must be geologically distinguishable from any rock surrounding the state submerged land lease.
  • The substrate must be approved by FDACS before it is deposited.
• You must ensure that all substrate deployment and harvest result in minimal environmental impacts, including sedimentation and turbidity both on and off the lease site.

Harvest or use of wild live rock is prohibited.

In the Exclusive Economic Zone

To culture live rock in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone, you must obtain a Live Rock Aquaculture Permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service. 

In Upland Aquaculture Facilities

Live rock can also be cultured in upland aquaculture facilities using saltwater pools or closed recirculating systems. If you are culturing live rock from substrate that contains any nonnative aquatic organisms, the live rock must be grown in upland facilities that sterilize all offsite discharge or use a closed recirculating system with no offsite discharge. 

Prohibited Marine Species

The following corals are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act and may not be harvested from cultured live rock on submerged land leases:

• Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis)
• Elkhorn (Acropora palmata)
• Rough cactus (Mycetophyllia ferox)
• Pillar (Dendrogyra cylindrus)
• Lobed star (Orbicella annularis)
• Mountainous star (Orbicella faveolata)
• Boulder star (Orbicella franksi)

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) must be notified at least 24 hours in advance of the transporting of any live rock colonized by prohibited marine species through, in or on waters of the state. 

Technical Information

For technical information concerning marine life culture, including handling, culture systems, water quality, etc., contact the University of Florida's Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory at (813) 671-5230.