Released by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
April 26, 2019 through May 2, 2019
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week;
however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.
NORTHWEST REGION
CASES
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Hughes, McLeod, and Swindell were targeting illegal night harvest of oysters from the Apalachicola Bay. They located a truck with an empty trailer at the Old Ferry Dock Boat Ramp. From a concealed location, they waited for the boat to return. After waiting for a couple of hours, they heard a boat approaching. They stopped the vessel and found the operator in possession of freshly caught oysters. The subject admitted to actively harvesting oysters in a closed area that night. The subject was cited, and the oysters seized.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
While on patrol on the Wacissa River, Officer Mims stopped a vessel occupied by two individuals who were actively fishing. Officer Mims discovered seven black bass, two of which showed signs of being gigged.There was a gig on the boat with wet aquatic vegetation on it. The passenger was cited for possession of over the bag limit of black bass. The owner of the vessel was cited for possession of freshwater gamefish together with any device prohibited to taking game fish.
LEON COUNTY
Officer Johnson checked the catch of two individuals while conducting a fisheries inspection at the Highway 90 boat ramp on the Ochlockonee River. After showing Officer Johnson a few fish from their live wells, they said that they did not have any more fish. Further inspection revealed additional fish in the dark water of the live well. Officer Johnson discovered a total of 13 black bass, over the legal limit of five fish each. Both subjects were issued citations for possession of over the limit of black bass, and the fish were seized as evidence.
FEDERAL WATERS
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Intrepid,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and Travis boarded a commercial longline vessel approximately 65 miles south of Carrabelle. During the resource inspection, they located unattached shark fins and cut up amberjack, shark, and other reef fish. The officers also found a significant amount of reef fish being used for bait and that the vessel exceeded the 750 “rigged for fishing” hook count allowed in the restricted area. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Guardian,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and Nelson boarded a recreational vessel approximately 13 miles south of Franklin County in federal waters. During the approach, one of the occupants was opening a compartment and leaning over the side of the vessel. The officers saw four red snapper floating in the water next to the vessel and the occupants admitted to throwing the fish overboard when they saw the law enforcement vessel approaching. Appropriate actions were taken for the violations of failure to allow inspection and possession of red snapper during federal closure.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Intrepid,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and J. Hughes boarded multiple recreational vessels in federal waters south of Franklin County. During one stop 24 miles offshore, officers located multiple gag grouper during federal closure. During another stop 12 miles offshore, officers located multiple red snapper hidden in a soft cooler bag. Appropriate action was taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Guardian,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and B. Hughes boarded a commercial bandit rig vessel approximately 62 miles southeast of Carrabelle. During the stop, officers located cut up red snapper. The officers addressed the violation of failure to land red snapper in whole condition.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Intrepid,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and J. Hughes boarded a commercial bandit rig vessel approximately 50 miles south of Franklin County. During the stop, officers located cut up amberjack and the crew stated that they were using it for bait. The officers addressed the violation of failure to land amberjack in whole condition.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Guardian,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Travis and J. Hughes boarded a commercial bandit rig vessel approximately 80 miles south of Carrabelle. During the approach, the vessel made evasive maneuvers and the officers located several undersized lane snapper that showed signs of being on the deck of the boat for an extended period. During the inspection, officers located undersized lane snapper, undersized red grouper, red snapper and amberjack not in whole condition, and reef fish being used as bait. The officers addressed the violations with the appropriate action.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Guardian,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Travis and J. Hughes boarded a commercial bandit rig vessel inside the Middle Grounds Marine Protected Area. During the stop, the occupants threw cut up pieces of red snapper overboard. The officers addressed the violations of failure to allow inspection and failure to land red snapper in whole condition. The vessel also was missing some of the required turtle mitigation gear. Appropriate action was taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Intrepid,” Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and J. Hughes boarded a commercial bandit rig vessel that earlier in the week was found in possession of undersized lane snapper, undersized red grouper, cut up amberjack and red grouper and reef fish being used for bait. During this stop approximately 80 miles offshore, the vessel was found in possession of undersized red grouper and cut up red grouper with multiple fillets laying on the bait table. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Vigilance,” Officers P. Rockwell and Matechik boarded a vessel approximately 15 miles southwest of Destin. Upon approach, the officers saw an individual rush to a cooler in the bow of the boat, quickly measure a fish (undersized gray triggerfish), and throw it overboard on the opposite side of the fishing vessel. During their inspection, the officers found additional undersized gray triggerfish. The individual who admitted to throwing the undersized gray triggerfish overboard claimed the additional undersized fish that were located onboard. The appropriate actions were taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Vigilance,” Officers P. Rockwell and Matechik boarded a vessel approximately 25 miles southwest of Destin. During the inspection, the officers found the occupants in possession of several undersized gag grouper. The gag grouper season was currently closed. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.
While aboard the offshore patrol vessel “Vigilance,” Officers P. Rockwell, Land and Matechik boarded a vessel approximately 17 miles southwest of Destin. During the inspection, they found the subjects in possession of over the bag limit and undersized greater amberjack. The season is currently closed for greater amberjack. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.
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