Florida does not have any restrictions on farm raised paddlefish within private ponds and lakes accept that they cannot be released into the wild and the larger lakes need to be registered. No fish can be released into the wild unless it is a native to Florida fish. You might be required to have an aquaculture license that will have guidelines that must be followed if you want to sell your fish. If you have an alligator in your pond then I am not sure if this would fall under the feeding the alligator rules but a duck or anything else might be the same thing. The library at (command and control) the Fish and Game department is bigger than most peoples houses, and the fines for violation of any laws is more expensive than most peoples houses, so it is always a good idea to call them before you do anything, do nothing, or don't tell anyone. Private Lakes that are over 20 acres need to have a permit for fish and restricted fish like the Walking Catfish need to be killed off. Farm raised paddlefish cannot be exported without a federal permit and there are heavy restrictions by CITES regulations on paddlefish in some states. The paddlefish cannot be marked as farm raised or as wild caught so the rule of thumb may be to assume they are all wild caught and subsequently illegal fish. Paper work from the farm might protect you. If you loose the paper work and there is no record then you could loose all of your property and assets for possession/transportation of illegal wild fish. If Florida becomes a new home for paddlefish in the wild then CITES could some day change their rules. The 20 million american paddlefish in China do not count for anything in the rest of the world.

The Florida courts are geared for federal prosecution when it comes to CITES. Federal FW is geared for putting innocent people in jail and setting them up. The permit to export farm raised paddlefish eggs is almost impossible to get unless you have connections on the inside. The FW office has 4 different 6 month permits that cost $100 each up front and would take at least 6 months to process if they don't get lost first. The office claims that they are under staffed and only one office. One Russian American business man was put in jail for 3 years and fined 1/2 million dollars for down grading his product from farm raised paddlefish eggs to farm raised Bowfin eggs, a much cheaper product that does not require the special farm raised permit from the federal government. Typical penalty might be 2 years and $200,000 fine unless your name is Mohammed and you don't speak good english. It is not a favorable business to have in the USA but it sure works out great for the Chinese that have no restrictions. There is no legal prerequisite for farm products but they do it anyway, mostly ignorance I think. If there happens to be some "off the wall" law that forgot to mention "farm" product then; they are not changing it to reflect a free market, to enhance their reason for being, or promote some politician's special interest.

The profit margins are fairly high in that a small paddlefish will sell for $4.00 and a large paddlefish will sell for $400.00 so it might be worth having some around the house. On the other hand, that alligator, hawk, or otter is getting some expensive food. The fact is because alligators will see paddlefish as a good food source, we want these adult paddlefish in the most wild locations away from human neighborhoods. If the paddlefish begin coming into populated areas then open bow hunting season on paddlefish might be justified to avoid attracting alligators and snakes.

Phosphate environmental remediation has been tried and tested several years ago. The fish grew very quickly with massive amounts of algae to feed on but died out in the end because of unknown complications. Probably acid, radiation, or just plain old low O2 levels did them in at a young age. Some forward statistics were developed but not well documented that I know of. I would suggest that humic acids can solve these problems a lot better than a living fish or at least allow the fish to survive by making the water better. The Chinese are producing humic acids by the boat load and selling it through Mexico. I am always game for new experiments but this initiative is about the natural environment and the paddlefish survival in the wild.

Old phosphate Ponds are not usually considered Lakes. They are man made bodies of water. As stated ponds are dug by man made machines, filled by rain, underground streams and/or piping water in. Any life that then occurs is transplanted there in most cases. Lakes however occur naturally. Here’s just how. A lake, categorized also as surface water, just like ponds, are created where there is surface-water runoff or underground springs that have accumulated in a naturally occurring low spot, relative to the surrounding land mass. It's not that the water is trapped there, but the incoming water displaces outgoing water quicker than what would be needed for the area to stay dry. If you own the land you can have complete control over what is and isn't dumped into your pond. With a lake the government can decide to put anything into it and they may or may not tell you. Lakes tend to be teaming with more life and are self-sufficient by and large. The ponds which man has built must also be maintained by man to stay alive. They are more unnatural than natural. Lakes tend to have only positive impacts on their surrounding environments where as, over time, ponds don’t and can even produce negative effects. If you plan to make your own lake then make sure it is less than 20 acres and not connected to the wild environment or if you want to make a 30 acre lake then you might consider putting an earthen barrier down the center so you can keep control of your property.

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish.