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Is it Legal to Keep Great White Teeth?

Started by Latimeria, October 09, 2019, 06:24:39 AM

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Latimeria

October 09, 2019, 06:24:39 AM
So, I was amazed and stumped when reading Facebook and saw that the Great White vs Kayak story and leaving 2 teeth.  I thought it was great souvenirs for a scary encounter, but someone chimed in that it was illegal to own (in CA or I guess anywhere in the US?)

I've never heard this, but really only have fossils shark teeth laws to go by.  I reached out to a source (DFW Marine Environmental Scientist to ask what are the laws concerning the retention of a GW tooth or teeth as I've seen them for sale on eBay.

I get a return email saying that they do not know and they are forwarding my email to someone with a better knowledge on the subject.

I get a follow up email the next day from the Assistant Chief - Marine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife saying he's not sure, so he's assigning it to the administrative Captain for a reply and I should hear by the end of the week.

Now I'm hoping I let sleeping bears lie as I was hoping for a quick yes or no answer to my question, but I should know by now that usually doesn't happen.

Personally, I don't see any issue with it as long as it wasn't taken in any manner except for happenstance that doesn't involve ripping them from a sharks mouth purposely.

I will report the final answer when I hear back from the Captain.

You can't catch them from your computer chair.

Latimeria

#1
October 11, 2019, 06:21:46 AM
He's sure taking his sweet ass time.  Hopefully he didn't forget about me, but in the very least I think it is probably legal as I've been handed off 3 times now at the agency and no one knows the answer. (At least until I get a response from the last correspondence)

You can't catch them from your computer chair.

Latimeria

#2
October 15, 2019, 01:19:58 PM
Finally got an answer. It is not illegal to possess white shark teeth if the teeth were legally taken or obtained. It would be legal to possess shark teeth that were found embedded in a kayak as a result of a shark biting the kayak. Simple possession of shark teeth is not unlawful, however teeth taken from sharks taken illegally would be unlawful to sell or possess.

This comes straight from the DFW.  I actually got question transferred to a few people before getting the email forwarded to the Captain for the answer
You can't catch them from your computer chair.

BenCantrell

#3
October 15, 2019, 02:10:43 PM
You'll need a certificate of authenticity proving your teeth came from a chomped kayak.  ;D
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