Hialeah men arrested on charges of poaching 468 lobsters

[iluvtheocean]

Read more here: Hialeah men arrested on charges of poaching 468 lobsters - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com

Two Hialeah men have been popped on charges of poaching 468 Florida spiny lobsters out of season, more than half of them undersized.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers arrested Javiel Vergel, 37, and Eriel Menendez Casana, 39, on Sunday night. They were slapped with a host of citations for misdemeanor fisheries violations including possession of lobsters out of season.
The FWC made the arrest after a call from another law enforcement agency about two men acting suspiciously while loading a boat on a trailer at the boat ramp on Watson Island near Jungle Island, said agency spokesman Jorge Pino. Wildlife officers found garbage bags full of wrung lobster tails stowed in numerous compartments in the boat.
During regular lobster season, which runs Aug. 6 to March 31, the legal limit for lobsters is six per person per day. De-heading lobsters before bringing them ashore is also illegal. The catch included 283 undersized tails and a egg-bearing female, both also violations.
Maj. Alfredo Escanio, Fish and Wildlife’s regional commander, credited strong relations between law enforcement agencies for exposing what he called a “serious violation.”
“The FWC will work to catch any individuals, like these, who purposely violate the rules and regulations in place to protect these precious resources,” he said in a statement.

THEY MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THIS!!!!

Read more here: Hialeah men arrested on charges of poaching 468 lobsters - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com


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[koozemani]

What penalty are they facing?

 

[SandyRobinson]

Here is one example - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/263992-thats-some-expensive-lobster.html Also seems like someone else in the keys lost a boat, a million dollar house and may have spent time in jail one or two years ago. Cannot find the thread though

 

[DennisS]

I have trouble going out and getting six lobsters, how did these guys manage to get all these. Did they have traps/casitas out there. Pretty amazing feat even though it's illegal

 

[FM1520]

What penalty are they facing?

Not sure about FL but for comparison here in CA last year a guy was caught with 47 undersized California spiny lobsters. He was fined $20K and got 7 days in county jail. Not sure if his boat and gear were confiscated.

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[mjsylver]

Need to check with my contacts at FWC, but I believe they just face the lesser charges and not the confiscation because they were caught out of the sanctuary/national/state park jurisdictions.

 

[iluvtheocean]

updated article bit:
FWC spokeswoman Carli Segelson said the tails were photographed for evidence then dumped into the ocean, where fish and crabs would eat them. They could not be saved or donated for human consumption because of potential health concerns about how they had been stored aboard the boat, she said.
Segelson said she could not estimate the maximum penalty but each second-degree misdemeanor conviction can result in a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.

but do the math if you want -- $500*468 = $234K max & 468/2 = 234 years max
yeah we know that isn't gonna happen but we shall see how much they get...


i personally have no problems with people catching lobsters legally (i love it myself) .... it's the illegal poachers like them that piss me off

Read more here: Hialeah men arrested on charges of poaching 468 lobsters - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com
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[TwoBitTxn]

I do wish there was a way to make it a felony.

 

[iluvtheocean]

I do wish there was a way to make it a felony.

doubt it... it's appropriate to be a misdemeanor, albeit one that can get very expensive quickly. it's similar to catching an undersized or out of season fish and keeping it...

but there is no telling right now what the other charges on them might be --- the article did say at least one of them had a prior record for cocaine..

and the penalty for this particular charge can be very hefty if you read my prior post...

actually i was just reading the florida statutes -- 379.407 i think -- depending on their priors, etc. they may decide to charge them with felony actions.

it's not back in high school when i and a couple friends got busted for setting off class "C" explosives back in St Louis. That was a misdemeanor - but i think it was only a $5 fine plus court costs - so what $40? (btw class "C" are fireworks -- bored HS seniors throwing bottle rockets out the car window) and they have since purged it being over 20 years ago

 

[PartyStar]

How about ALL the others who did not get caught? Sadly, this happen often in Flori-Duh.