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.
Patrol, Protect, Preserve
NORTHWEST REGION
BAY COUNTY
Officers Gore and T. Basford were offshore on patrol when they conducted a resource inspection on a vessel fishing in federal waters. The officers found an undersized greater amberjack and a red snapper. The season is closed for both species. Two written warnings were issued for the possession of amberjack and red snapper during the closed season. A citation was issued for the undersized amberjack.
Major Cooper joined some officers on patrol and while approaching a commercial vessel, the officers noticed a deckhand dumping a bucket of fish overboard. After boarding the vessel, they found twelve undersized vermillion snapper (being cut up for bait), no saltwater products license onboard and the vessel registration to be expired. The captain was cited for the license and registration issues and charged federally for using reef fish as bait and possession of undersized fish.
Officer T. Basford responded to a disturbance call in St. Andrews State Park. Upon arriving at the location, the Officer found the door to a pop-up camper broken and its canvas top torn. As Officer Basford began his investigation, it was obvious his suspect was intoxicated. Further investigation found the suspect had been chasing his wife and daughter around the campsite, yelling vulgarities and breaking objects. Written statements were taken from nearby campers and the suspect was arrested and booked into the Bay County Jail for disorderly conduct.
Officer Price was on patrol in the gulf when he stopped a vessel that was actively trolling. The vessel’s owner/captain said they had two red snapper (closed season) onboard because they were dead. An inspection of the fish revealed the red snapper had been gaffed in the head. Also located was an undersized red grouper and two triggerfish (closed season), one of which was undersized. When asked why he was keeping all the fish, the captain said he was “taking his chances”. Citations for possession of red snapper and triggerfish during the closed season and possession of undersized red grouper was issued and a written warning was issued for the undersized triggerfish.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Manning patrolled off shore in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. He performed fishery and safety checks on several vessels. As a result, he issued four individuals citations for not having a saltwater license, one individual a criminal citation for possession of Gray Trigger Fish during closed season and one citation to a charter boat captain for not having a charter boat license.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Officers Jarvis and P. Rockwell were on patrol at the Destin East Jetty when they noticed two men snorkeling in the Destin Pass. Officer Jarvis observed one of the men remove a flounder from a spear gun and put it in their kayak. The other man dropped his spear gun underwater when approached by Officer Rockwell. Both men were charged with spearfishing within 100 feet of a jetty and given warnings for no divers down flag.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Major Cooper and Officer Maltais attended a Division of Marine Fisheries meeting at the Destin Community Center. They were available for questions and input on State fisheries management. Several people were in attendance along with 14 public citizens.
NORTHEAST REGION
BREVARD COUNTY
The Titusville office hosted a South Atlantic Fisheries Council Webinar. There were 13 stakeholders attending the meeting in person along with 4 stakeholders signed in online. Captain Rowe, Franklin, Lieutenant Lee along with Analyst Brugess represented the agency. South Atlantic Fisheries Council Chairman Ben Hartig represented the Council during the presentation and public input portions of the meeting.
While on patrol of Sebastian Inlet State Park, Officers Lightsey and Hadwin observed three men spear fishing in the park boundaries. While conducting surveillance, the officers observed the men exit the water and walk up the beach. The officers conducted a resource inspection which revealed the men were in possession of two undersized sheepshead and one undersized black sea bass, all of which had been speared. Officer Hadwin issued citations for possession of undersized sheepshead and no fishing license. Warnings were issued for spearfishing in the state park, possession of undersized sea bass and no license in possession.
Officers Hadwin, Lightsey and Boyer received a call in reference to possible gill netting in the Melbourne area. After arriving on scene, the officers conducted surveillance of the area and were able to locate a man fishing with a pole at the end of a local dock. The man stopped fishing and went to one end of the dock where he pulled a gill net to check for fish. The officers spoke to some fisherman that had just left the dock and asked if the man in question had set the nets. The anglers stated that the man and his wife had set the nets and had been fishing there for four days. The officers approached the man and woman and had them pull their nets. Three gill nets in total were attached to the dock and submerged into the waters below. Numerous blue crabs, spadefish, pufferfish and horseshoe crabs were pulled from the entangling nets. One illegal trap was also pulled that the couple had been using. The two were placed under arrest for multiple counts of felony net and trap violations and booked into the Brevard County Jail. Some of the fish and crabs were able to be safely removed from the nets and returned to the resource.
Investigator Trusley observed a truck towing a trailer with more than 25 waste tires, and no placard displayed. Investigator Trusley conducted a traffic stop to address the violation. The driver of the vehicle stated that he had a permit but did not have it with him and had been told once before that he was supposed to have the placard displayed while hauling waste tires. Subject stated that he did not want the sticker displayed on his vehicle. He further stated that he was going to have a magnet made for the placard and planned to display it then. Investigator Trusley issued a notice to appear for the violation.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Officer Boyer was on water patrol on the Indian River at night when he observed a vessel operating without an all-around white light. Officer Boyer stopped the vessel to conduct a vessel safety inspection. During the inspection, Officer Boyer observed a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from the operator of the vessel as well as several open and empty containers of alcohol throughout the vessel. Officer Boyer conducted field sobriety tasks on the operator. The operator performed poorly on the field sobriety tasks and exhibited several signs of impairment. The operator was then arrested for operating a vessel with normal faculties impaired and was booked into the Brevard County Jail. The operator refused to submit to a breath test.
VOLUSIA COUNTY
Officer Sapp was on patrol within the St. John’s River near Highbank’s Marina. He observed a small Jon boat being operated by an adult male. The vessel did not have any registration numbers displayed. Officer Sapp conducted a vessel stop to address the violation. During the stop it was determined the male subject did not have any boating safety equipment and the vessel had not been registered. The male subject was attempting to “cool off” by himself after an argument with his girlfriend. A search of the male subject produced a small 22 cal. pistol in his front pocket. The subject was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm in addition to operating a vessel without a HULL Identification Number.
Officer West encountered an adult male pulling his canoe out of the water in New Smyrna Beach. West inspected his catch and found the individual to be in possession of several undersized sheepshead. Upon returning to the fisherman’s vehicle, another cooler was found in the back of his truck. More undersized sheepshead were discovered. He was issued a notice to appear for a total of 12 undersized sheepshead.
Officer West approached a fisherman in the Bethune Park area who he had observed catching mangrove snapper. Officer West discovered the fisherman was in possession of 12 undersized mangrove snapper. He was issued a notice to appear for possession of the twelve undersized snapper.
Officer Goodreau responded to a report of someone spearfishing from the south jetty in New Smyrna Beach. The adult male was found to be in possession of a speared snook. He was charged with possession of snook out of season, taking snook by illegal method, and spearfishing within 100 feet of a jetty.
NORTH CENTRAL
BAKER COUNTY
Officers Jenkins, Pettyjohn, Gill and Lieutenant Huff responded to a search and rescue in the Osceola National Forest when it was reported that an individual had been missing since the previous evening. Pilot Joe Johnston provided air support in the search. After an extended search, the subject was located and in good spirits.
CITRUS COUNTY
Officers Reid and Crane were on land patrol near the Withlacoochee River when they noticed a truck and airboat trailer in the parking lot. They waited for the boat to return in order to do a safety and resource inspection. When the boat returned, the two persons on board were found to have a small hatchling alligator in the boat. The operator explained that he had caught the hatchling to show his son. However, he could not explain why there was also a 7-foot alligator hidden in the front compartment of the boat. The two subjects were charged with taking alligator out of season.
Officer VanNess and Wells were on land patrol late Wednesday night when they noticed a septic truck parked in a suspicious manner next to a building. The two officers approached the driver of the truck and determined that the operator had a hose out of the back of truck and was dumping raw human waste into a vacant lot next to the building. Charges will be filed through the state attorney’s office for felony dumping of a hazardous material.
DUVAL COUNTY
With the assistance of Officers McGregor and Sweat, Investigator Holleman was able to wrap up a month long investigation and obtain both a felony and misdemeanor arrest warrant for two subjects who captured an American Alligator in April. Both subjects had prior FWC alligator-related violations.
LEVY COUNTY
Officer Schulz was on land patrol near Devil’s Hammock Wildlife Management Area (WMA) late in the night and noticed headlights coming from one of the main WMA roads. He stopped a vehicle in the WMA to address the after-hours violation. While speaking with the four occupants he could smell and see alcoholic beverages in the truck and noticed that the fence they had parked adjacent to was recently damaged. The passenger side of the truck was also recently damaged. Officers Hilliard and Starling pulled up to provide assistance and to help to gather statements from everyone. At the end of the investigation, the driver of the vehicle was charged with misdemeanor destruction of state property for running over and breaking the fence in the WMA.
Officers Schulz and Ulrich were on water patrol near the Withlacoochee River when they conducted a fisheries inspection on a vessel with four subjects fishing from the vessel. The captain of the vessel had an undersized cobia with no measuring device on board to measure the fish he caught. A misdemeanor citation for possession of undersized cobia was issued.
While on water patrol on the Withlacoochee River, Officers Schulz and Ulrich checked two individuals who were fishing from a kayak. During a conversation with one of the subjects, he claimed that he did not have any fish on board. A fisheries inspection found the other individual to be in possession of undersized redfish. The individual was issued a misdemeanor citation for possession of undersized redfish.
SOUTHWEST REGION
LEE COUNTY
Officers Fogle, Raczek, Rogers and K9 Officer Collazo assisted one of the wildlife biologists with the capture of two Black Bear cubs that had been spotted roaming behind a resident’s house in Bonita Springs. It was known at the time of the call that the mother bear had been put down the previous night as a result of an attack against a neighborhood dog. Upon the officers’ arrival, both bears had already ascended a nearby oak tree and managed to perch themselves close to the top. Using a couple of extendable ladders, the persons on scene worked together to successfully capture the bear cubs and safely bring them down out of the tree. The cubs were then transported to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park for evaluation.
PASCO COUNTY
Officers Beckman and Balfour received a complaint in Richloam Wildlife Management Area (WMA) of an individual that was acting suspicious and possibly driving under the influence. Officers Beckman and Balfour made contact with the individual and arrested him for driving with license suspended or revoked and driving under the influence.
SOUTH REGION A
BROWARD COUNTY
Officers Brock and Tarr were on patrol checking fishermen on the inland side of Broward County. During a freshwater fisheries inspection they came upon a subject that had a felony warrant for his arrest. The subject was arrested and transported to Broward County Jail.
Officers Vacin and Matthews were on patrol on the beach in Broward County. They observed a subject with a spear gun and approached the subject to conduct a saltwater fisheries inspection. The subject was found to be in possession of a wrung lobster tail. The subject was cited for harvesting lobster out of season and possessing wrung lobster.
MARTIN COUNTY
Working off a tip from a concerned fisherman, just after midnight, Officer Doricchi conducted surveillance on three individuals in the area of the old Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart. The three men were fishing with cast nets and were seen putting fish in a cooler. After identifying the role of each of the men and watching them attempt to sneak back to their vehicle, Officer Doricchi made contact with the men and preformed a fisheries inspection. Each of the three men were cited accordingly for multiple violations including:
Possession of out of season and undersized snook
Illegal method of take for snook
Possession of undersized sheepshead
Harvest of pufferfish in Martin Co.
Possession of undersized mangrove snapper
No valid saltwater fishing license
PALM BEACH COUNTY
While on offshore patrol, Officers Church and Trawinski stopped a vessel inbound about two miles out of Jupiter Inlet. A fisheries inspection revealed the operator to be in possession of 5 undersized dolphin. He was cited accordingly.
Officers Church and Trawinski inspected 2 separate vessels in the area of the Palm Beach Inlet, and found both vessels to have “Marine Life” violations. The operator of the first vessel was found to be in possession of 2 parrot fish that had been speared. The operator of the second vessel was found to be in possession of a parrot fish that had been harvested on hook and line. Both individuals were cited accordingly.
SOUTH REGION B
COLLIER COUNTY
FWC received information about an individual selling saltwater fish out of his home in the Golden Gate City area of Naples and began an investigation. During the course of the investigation, a second individual was identified as a suspect. The two individuals live near to each other and fish together frequently. FWC investigators made contact with one of them and made several buys including undersized grouper and goliath grouper. Neither individual has a commercial fishing or dealer license. Uniformed Officers made a stop on one of the individuals as he returned from offshore and docked at a local boat ramp. He denied having any hidden or illegal fish. A FWC K-9 Officer arrived and the FWC K-9 alerted to a hidden compartment in the console. A search of the compartment was opened to reveal 86 red grouper (85 undersized), 2 large fillets of goliath grouper and miscellaneous other fish. The individual was arrested. A short time later, the second individual was stopped as he returned from offshore. He also initially denied having any illegal or hidden fish, but then admitted where the hidden compartment was and that it contained illegal grouper, goliath grouper and a sea turtle. The individual’s vessel contained a total of 119 red grouper (88 undersized), 5 oversized permit, 13 large fillets of goliath grouper, parts of 1 large sea turtle and miscellaneous other fish. There were a total of 4 individuals onboard the individual’s vessel.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
Officer Martin and a FWC Investigator responded to a complaint reporting that someone was keeping a juvenile alligator as a pet. When the officers arrived they saw a two foot alligator tied up to a cage outside the residence in question. The officers contacted the home owner who agreed to speak to them regarding the alligator. Ultimately the man was arrested for being in possession of an alligator and for having an open misdemeanor warrant. The alligator was released into the everglades.
Officer Martin conducted a speed zone enforcement detail in Bill Baggs State Park. As a result she issued approximately 20 warnings, 10 infractions, and 13 parking citations. She also issued two infractions for driving with a suspended license and arrested one person for having an active bench warrant.
MONROE COUNTY
Investigator Daniels responded to a call on Rodriguez Key reporting that a man was threatening to kill anyone who waked his vessels which included a dinghy and a larger vessel. Once Investigator Daniels arrived on scene she contacted the man who was clearly intoxicated and extremely combative. After several attempts to calm the man down to no avail, the man was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail.
Officer Munkelt received information that a man was operating an illegal charter business without the proper licenses. Officer Munkelt waited for the vessel in question to return to port. Officer Munkelt saw the vessel pulling in with three males on board. He then saw one of the subjects fillet a dolphin and then exchange what appeared to be a significant amount of money with one of the two men on the vessel. Officer Munkelt approached the two men and obtained sworn witness statements attesting to the fact that they contacted the subject after booking a fishing charter on line. The two men stated that they paid the “captain” $800.00 for a day long charter. A records check revealed that the subject did not have a charter fishing license and as such was cited accordingly.
Resource Protection Officer Munkelt saw two subjects in the water near Anne’s Beach in the upper Keys. Officer Munkelt saw the subjects dive down several times near the rocks and the channel marker. Once the subjects exited the water Officer Munkelt saw that the pair were in possession of spear guns. Officer Munkelt approached the two men and they immediately stated that they were using the spear guns as protection. In a subsequent conversation the two men admitted that they were attempting to spear snapper. As a result both men were charged with spearing in the upper Keys.
Officer Wagner was on foot patrol at the Sugarloaf Loop Road Bridge when he observed two individuals snorkeling in the canal below. Officer Wagner asked a man standing near the shoreline what the two snorkelers were doing and he replied “spearfishing”, however, when the two men returned to shore they did not have spear guns. Officer Wagner instructed one of the individuals to return into the water and retrieve the spear guns. The subject was gone for a while before returning with two spear guns, one of which was missing a spear. Officer Wagner contacted Officer Munkelt for assistance and requested that he respond to the scene in order to search the area for contraband. Once Officer Munkelt arrived he entered the water and soon discovered three speared lobster next to a spear fitting the description of the spear in possession by one of the divers. The two men were cited accordingly.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Officer Dube and Delgado from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in Marathon gave a presentation to approximately 50 kids from then Founders Park Summer Camp in Islamorada.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report