Tag Archives: Florida Fish and Wildlife
No federal fishing disaster decision
FEMA has given out more than five billion dollars to help people recover from Hurricane Ian, but none of that money has gone specifically to the fishing industry. Last week the federal government sent a letter saying “It still hasn’t decided if it’s going to declare a federal fishery disaster.” Ian devastated the fishing industry in southwest Florida. Fort Myers Beach the shrimping fleet went from 50 vessels to just 3 after the storm. On Pine Island, 80 percent of fish houses suffered damage. Read the letter, video, >click to read< 10:06
Fisherman charged with use of illegal traps
A commercial fisherman is facing charges after officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) discovered more than 500 closed season crab traps in Hernando County. According to FWC, on Sept. 21 the officers initially came upon 54 illegal traps while on patrol. Later acting on a warrant that provided the fisherman’s GPS coordinates, officers found another 450 traps belonging to the fisherman who allegedly illegally worked at night. >click to read< 18:16
Boaters clobber rare Right whale and calf, but they avoid legal consequences
There’s nothing like a good shipwreck story. The crash happened near dusk on Feb. 12, 2021. A captain and seven passengers were aboard the 54-footer. They were returning from a day of competing at the Northeast Florida Wahoo Shootout. The boat was doing about 21 knots, 24 mph if you’re a landlubber, as it headed for the Conch House Marina in St. Augustine. Nearing their destination, in the St. Augustine Inlet, the boat smacked into something — hard. The boat stopped dead in the water. So did whatever it had hit. Suddenly the “About Time” didn’t have much time. Both its twin engines shut down and the damaged boat began sinking fast. When a pair of Florida wildlife officers showed up, the owner of the boat, Dayne Williams of New Smyrna Beach, blurted out, “I think we hit a whale. I saw fins and blood.” Biologists immediately identified it as an endangered North American right whale. >click to read< 12:34
F/V Catherine Lane: Wrecked shrimp boat breaking apart
The shrimp boat that wrecked June 9 near Cumberland Island is now breaking apart, littering the water and coastline. “I got contacted by Florida Fish and Wildlife to see if we could go out and take some pictures,” Cary Cosgrove said. “I thought we’d get out there and find a shrimp boat but we get out there and couldn’t find it,” That’s because in the ten days since the boat crashed, it had broken apart,,, “The hull is a couple hundred feet off the rocks,” Cosgrove said. “The remnants from the rest of the boat were scattered all over the place.” Video, >click to read< 15:31
A shrimper crashed his boat. Police said they found him with drugs and ready to fight
Ron Ray Anderson, 39, of Merritt Island, ignored officers’ commands and charged at them with a fist, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s arrest report. The officers said they had to spray him with Mace to take him into custody. FWC officers said they arrived at about 2 p.m. Wednesday to find a large shrimping vessel aground near the green channel marker No. 5 near the Safe Harbor Marina Channel. The vessel was listing to its port side about 100 yards outside the marked channel. >click to read< 14:42
North Fort Myers man alleged to have illegally used a net to catch sharks in the Gulf
A North Fort Myers man on probation for wildlife violations is facing more than a dozen charges including allegedly catching eight sharks over the state limit and using nets for those catches after wildlife officers saw him try to toss other fish into Jug Creek. Bryan David Becker, 34, remains in Lee County Jail on no bond.,, Two plainclothes Florida Fish and Wildlife officers watched Becker at 4 a.m. on Feb. 15 as he violated a marked slow speed zone in a commercial fishing “Mullet Skiff” on approach to a dock at Jug Creek Marina in Bokeelia. >click to read< 14:52
ICE searching shrimp boats docked at Mayport, Fernandina
A shrimping boat docked at Mayport and another at Fernandina Beach were searched Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office dive team and at least one officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were assisting in the Mayport search of the Mattie Fay at the dock of Safe Harbor Seafood, next to the U.S. Coast Guard Station. The Captain A.B. was the boat being searched in Fernandina. The two shrimping boats are owned by brothers, who had just returned from Key West after at least 20 days at sea. Leon Reid runs Mattie Fay and Ricky Armstrong runs Captain A.B. click here to read the story 13:37
FWC nabs lobster poaching brothers in the Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary
Two commercial fishermen — brothers from Homestead — with a history of fisheries violations were nabbed by state wildlife officers Sunday afternoon poaching lobster in the Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary. And after this incident, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may keep their boat, said FWC spokesman Bobby Dube. The case began on Saturday when officers spotted the 17-foot bully net-style boat suspiciously in deep water, said FWC Capt. David Dipre. That spurred an undercover investigation, Dube said. On Sunday, officers watched the boat near Little Angelfish Creek in North Key Largo and saw Javier Morales-Molina, 39, diving in the water, Dube said. His brother, Alfredo Morales-Molina, 41, was in the boat. Those officers called for a marked patrol boat to stop the brothers, Dube said. Read the story here 14:05
Florida Fish And Wildlife: 44 Illegal Spiny Lobster Tails Taken By Suspect, Charged With Poaching
One could call them the “J Team” of Officers James Johnson, Jeremy Foell, Jamie Richards and Jose Lopez. Foell and Richards inspected a commercial fishing vessel they saw pulling traps while they were on patrol in the FWC Interceptor with Johnson. During the resource inspection, officers discovered 44 wrung spiny lobster tails hidden behind hydraulic equipment on the fishing boat; 24 of the illegally wrung tails were undersized. When they got to shore, Lopez interviewed a suspect who was then booked into a local jail for the numerous poaching violations. (Link) 08:53
Big Pine Key Lobster fisherman court ordered to surrender 400 traps
David Lee Boggs, 51, was ultimately charged with more than 100 counts of misdemeanor fishing without proper tags after state wildlife officers and the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office uncovered more wrongdoing after his arrest, said Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne. Boggs was initially found to be fishing with about 100 untagged traps, but later confessed to Florida Fish and Wildlife officers that he had more in the water that needed to be removed, bringing the final total to more than 500 illegal traps, records state. Read the rest here 09:35
Florida Fish and Wildlife arrest Four men for Fishery Violations
“These individuals knew exactly what they were doing. They built their vessels specifically to hide fish, and we knew that,” Pino said. “The level of disregard for Florida’s natural resources and the fact that these individuals just chose to violate the law, blatantly, is astonishing to even the most senior investigator that we had on the case.” The investigation targeted Vazquez Acosta and the owner of the second boat, 43-year-old Jorge L. Escalona. The FWC had received tips about illegal activity, all of which Pino said was confirmed by the arrests Saturday. Read the rest here 17:38
Changes to the rec and commercial management of swordfish in state waters approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Changes to state rules approved by the Commission will allow fishermen who participate in this new commercial fishery to land and sell their catch in Florida. Additional changes include, more@fosterfollynews 07:01
Marathon Florida woman selling lobster tails on Craigslist busted by Florida Fish and Wildlife
“This lobster fresh?” he asked in a text message. “Yes very fresh,” the person on the other end responded. continued@abcactionnews
