COLLECTING
THE
DWARF SEAHORSE
Hippocampus zosterae
Dwarf horses are primarily harvested in depths under ten feet, and in fact are found more often in one to five feet of water. In order to harvest and sell zosterae a valid Salt Water Products license with proper indorsements is needed from the State of Florida. By law collectors are only allowed to use a net one foot by four feet, weighing only three pounds or less in a boat no larger than fifteen feet in length. (The State of Florida has stopped issuing new SPL licenses until 2002).
That is the law, now let's deal with acquisitions problems. For the last few years an increasing amount of algae growth has been prevelant in Florida Bay, a prime collecting area. I have been fishing these areas since 1962 and can say from experience that the problem goes hand in hand with the green algae growth reported in the upper keys and everglades. There is a brown algae that bundles in big rows and moves along the bottom with tidal motion, like the western tumble weed. This presents a big problem for the collecter because it will fill up the net and keep desired animals from entering. Just guessing I would say eighty percent or more of the prime collecting areas are covered with this algae almost all year long. There have been no studies to my knowledge concerning what if any damage my be imposed on the natural Turtle grass growing on these flats, and the interacting fauna. From experience I have found that certain animals move to more open water when the "tumble weed algae" moves in.
Gathering Dwarf horses and their bycatch is also limited to tidal action and
depth of water, in other words one can only collect with best results about one to three
hours, twice, in a twenty four hour period. Calm weather helps a lot, living in
shallow water these little horses hold on even more tightly to their hitching post's when
the wind blows up.
Since the intrusion of (tumble weed algae) it is practically impossible to collect Zost's
in a large portion of their natual habitat, I do not know what effect the brown algae has
on Zost's but it most certainly protects these little animals from over-collecting....may
be good, may be bad, I just do not know.
More to come,.