The officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have seized a big catch of illegally netted fish and have arrested the fishermen who caught them. According to FWC four men have been arrested for gill-netting in state waters and seized 48,000 square feet of monofilament entangling nets and 4,000 pounds of fish.
It is informed that the officers were working a net detail early Friday morning in Caxambas Pass, in the waters off the southwest coast of Florida when they observed two boats running without navigation lights working together, pulling illegal nets full of fish. After spotting them the officers stopped the two boats and found about two tons of ladyfish, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, spotted seatrout, bonnethead shark and blacktip shark. Some of the fish were still alive in the gill nets.
Carey Arthur of Naples; Daryl Ankney of Bonita Springs; Kirkwood Smith of Naples; and Scott Mobley of Ruskin are facing felony charges. These men were booked into the Collier County jail, said FWC. Gill nets have been banned in Florida waters since November 1994.
FWC Capt. Alfredo Escanio told that these don’t discriminate; they can entangle any species, and are very damaging to our resource. He added that this act sends a message to the fishing community that we are out there, protecting the state’s marine life. The FWC sold the seized fish to a fish house. The proceeds are being kept in escrow, pending the outcome of the case.
Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Gilbert A. Smith Jr. today sentenced a man arrested last summer to 30 days in jail with credit for time already served, as well as 18 months probation and 50 hours of community service.
