He also may be violating a whole slew of state fisheries laws - as far as I know, every state has minimum size laws for flounder, fluke, and weakfish (especially since the populations for all 3 species are in decline). Some also have size limits on bluefish (but not all). He may also need a collecting permit (shellfish permit) to collect the crabs, and they might need to meet size limits as well.
A "legal sized" fluke or flounder would require at least a 150g tank - and I'd be hesitant to put more than one in a tank that small. I'd probably go even larger for the weakfish. Blues I wouldn't put in with other fish, and I'd go 500g plus...
Oyster toadfish should be no problem legally, but they are voracious eaters - any/all tankmates are potential prey sooner or later if they are not quite a bit bigger than an adult toadfish. I'd go with a large tank, big skimmer, and lots of water changes.
Most of what we see as "baitfish" on the east coast are either killiefish, silversides, menhaden, "herring", or mullet. The killies do great in aquariums, silversides can do ok if they are collected carefully, but can be easily injured. Menhaden or herring are also very sensitive during collection, and hard to keep healthy IME. Mullet are pretty bulletproof, assuming you get them small and don't overcrowd.
Here in Mass, we can't keep gamefish even if they are legal sized - from Fish and Game Wardens I've talked to here, none of those can be legally kept in a home aquarium here. Fines vary, but they basically take all your gear if they catch you, and up here its like $500 per fish... not something I'm willing to take a chance on... I'd definately check your local laws before setting up a tank like that.
Also - these aren't fish that you can just toss some flakes in - they have pretty specialized diets.
|