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
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Ben Pineda stopped a vessel to conduct a fisheries inspection. The vessel occupants stated that they had only caught Spanish mackerel and began to hold up one fish at a time from a cooler. Officer Pineda requested to look inside the cooler and when he did, he observed red snapper. The owner/operator of the vessel was cited for possession of red snapper during the closed season.
Officers Ben Pineda and Sarah Manning were conducting boating safety and fisheries inspections at the 17th Avenue boat ramp in Pensacola when they observed three red snapper in a vessel’s cooler. The vessel owner/operator was cited for possession of red snapper during the closed season.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
In the Grassy Point area of the Yellow River Wildlife Management Area, an officer responded to a complaint of individuals causing problems at the campground. The officer observed a group of people around a campfire with several beer cans on the ground. A citation for possession of alcohol within the management area was issued.
Lt. Dan Hahr observed a subject selling shrimp near a business. The man, who did not have a retail saltwater products license, was issued a notice to appear for the violation.
Officers were on patrol of the Eglin Wildlife Management Area checking landings and creek bottoms. While checking several people who were swimming at Weaver Creek, the officers observed a vehicle with two occupants approach. The vehicle stopped, turned around, and then fled. When the officers caught up to the vehicle and pulled it over, there was only one occupant inside. The officers requested assistance from K-9 Officer Sarah Manning and K-9 Sadie in locating the subject who fled. K-9 Sadie tracked the suspect approximately 100 yards through the woods, and located him hiding in the bushes. The subject was cited for resisting an officer, driving while license suspended, and failure to possess an Eglin permit.
Lt. Dan Hahr was on patrol near Simpson River when he observed two subjects fishing. While checking their licenses, he observed a marijuana pipe and loose cannabis on the side of the boat. The occupant closest to the drugs admitted to possessing the pipe and a baggie of cannabis in his tackle box. He was issued a notice to appear for possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Officer Matt Webb was on vessel water patrol conducting boating safety and state fisheries inspections near Destin Pass when he observed a 17‑foot boat with two occupants returning from the Gulf of Mexico. During the safety inspection, Officer Webb determined the individuals were returning from a fishing trip. The fisheries inspection revealed five king mackerel. The operator was issued a citation for possession of over the bag limit.
Officer Matt Webb was on water patrol conducting boating safety and state fisheries inspections near Destin Pass when he observed a boat returning from the Gulf of Mexico. The inspection revealed an undersize red grouper and an undersize gray triggerfish. The operator was issued a citation for an undersize red grouper and issued a written warning for the undersize gray triggerfish.
Officers Steve Bartlett and Ryan Nelson were on vessel water patrol near the U.S. Coast Guard Station Destin when they observed several individuals fishing from land. Officer Bartlett beached the patrol vessel out of sight of the individuals and dropped off Officer Nelson. Officer Nelson made contact with the individuals and conducted a fisheries inspection. The inspection revealed that one of the individuals was in possession of three red drum. The individual was issued a citation for over the bag limit.
Lt. Keith Clark received a call regarding a vehicle stop by the Eglin Air Force Base security. Upon stopping the suspicious vehicle with four occupants inside, the Air Force security personnel discovered two freshly killed deer in the bed of the vehicle. Lieutenant Clark dispatched Officers Pete Rockwell and Sulin Schafer to the scene. Upon arriving, Officers Rockwell and Schafer read the occupants their Miranda warnings and conducted an investigation. Lieutenant Clark arrived on scene soon after. In the bed of the truck were two antlerless deer, a doe, and a 4‑inch spike, all freshly harvested. Officer Rockwell interviewed the four occupants and determined the deer were killed on the right-of-way off Highway 85. The shooter was identified and cited for shooting from the right-of-way, taking deer during closed season, and taking a deer with less than a 5‑inch spike. The other three individuals were issued a citation for possession of deer during closed season and possession of a 4‑inch spike. A 12-gauge automatic Mossberg shotgun was seized along with shotgun shells.
Bay County
Officer Joe Chambers observed a truck with fishing poles and coolers pull into the DuPont Bridge area, stay a few minutes, and then start to depart. Officer Chambers stopped the driver of the truck and asked if he had any fish. The driver replied that he did. An inspection revealed one undersize flounder and the operator was operating the truck with a suspended driver’s license. A written warning for the flounder and a citation for driving with a suspended license were issued.
Officer Joe Chambers was patrolling the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area when he located an individual in a campsite area clearly marked for no overnight camping. There was an open fire and alcohol in the campsite. Warnings were issued for the alcohol and open fire and a citation was issued for the camping violation.
Officer Joe Chambers was checking crabbers in St. Andrews Bay when he found two harvesters who said they were “putting the egg bearers back.” A check of their catch found 55 blue crabs, 22 of which were egg bearers. Later, another harvester was checked and found in possession of 57 crabs, 35 of which were egg bearers. Citations were issued.
Officer Mike Nobles checked a spear fisher in St. Andrews Bay who said he had no fish, but an inspection revealed a Ziploc bag containing filets, which the fisher said were grouper and sheepshead. A citation and written warning were issued.
Officer Nick Price was on land patrol when he observed a vehicle being operated in a very careless manner. A traffic stop was conducted and the driver was found to have a suspended driver’s license and displayed signs of impairment. After failing field sobriety evaluations and refusing to submit to a breath test, the driver was booked into the Bay County Jail for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and careless driving.
Officer Nick Price was checking crabbers in St. Andrews Bay when he found two subjects who possessed 25 egg-bearing crabs. Citations were issued.
Officer Nick Price checked a vessel with an expired registration in St. Andrews Bay and located a cooler in the vessel that contained 16 undersize black sea bass. Citations were issued for the fish and a written warning was issued for the expired registration.
Officer Jeff Gager responded to a call regarding a personal watercraft found buried on Shell Island. Officer Gager contacted the complainant and determined he had salvaged the vessel, removed it from the island, and took it to his residence, where he began to take it apart and clean it up. Officer Gager checked the registration numbers and determined who the registered owner was. His investigation revealed the former owner had registered the vessel with the wrong numbers. Officer Gager met with both the new owner and the former owner and issued the former owner a citation for improper hull number displayed.
Officer Jim Moore responded to a call regarding a diver in distress from a possible heart attack approximately nine miles offshore. Officer Moore met EMS at the Panama City Marina and transported them offshore to meet with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) who was transporting the victim. Officer Moore escorted the USCG back to shore where the victim was able to walk off the vessel. When the diver surfaced, he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.
Officer David Erdman worked a boating accident at the Sun Harbor Marina involving a vessel that caught on fire and sustained substantial property damage. The cause of the accident was determined to be electrical caused by the owner plugging his laptop computer into the shore power that was 230 volts. The computer overheated and caught on fire.
While conducting fisheries inspections in St. Andrew Bay, Officer David Brady stopped a vessel that was returning from offshore. An inspection of his catch revealed a fish filet in a cooler. Officer Brady checked all of the fish and then asked the captain what the filet was from and he advised he didn’t know. Officer Brady determined the filet to be from an amberjack. The captain was issued a citation for not landing fish in whole condition.
Officer David Brady was working offshore with another officer southeast of the Panama City Pass conducting fisheries inspections. On one stop, he observed blood on the floor of a vessel and the captain and his passenger were asked if they had any fish. Their reply was “No”. When Officer Brady asked to inspect the coolers, the captain complied and Officer Brady located five undersize amberjack and one undersize gag grouper. The fishermen were charged with taking undersize and over the bag limit of amberjack. One was charged with the undersize grouper.
Officer David Brady and another officer were working offshore when they stopped a vessel for hire. The captain’s charter license had been expired more than four months. He was issued a citation.
Officer Mike Nobles was on patrol when he found a subject in possession of egg bearing blue crabs. A citation was issued for the violation.
Officer Nick Price was on water patrol with Major Brett Norton when a resource inspection was conducted on a recreational vessel. When asked if any fish had been caught, the occupant replied they had a “BBQ and chicken.” When asked again, the occupant said there were no fish on board. An inspection revealed one undersize speckled trout and three undersize bluefish. Citations were issued.
Officer Nick Price was checking fishers at the Lake Powell Bridge when he found three individuals who had no valid fishing or driver’s licenses. Warnings were issued and the fishers promised to call someone to come pick them up. Later, Officer Price saw the subjects leaving the bridge in a truck. The truck was stopped and found to have a tag attached that didn’t belong to the vehicle. A citation was issued.
Officer Joe Chambers received information about three individuals who were catching oversize redfish at the Dupont Bridge and hiding the fish in their vehicles. Officer Chambers worked the information for a couple of weeks and his persistence paid off. Officer Chambers watched as the three subjects each caught a redfish and then placed them in their respective vehicles. When the fish were checked, all were found to be oversize. As Officer Chambers issued citations, numerous other fishers displayed their appreciation by giving Officer Chambers a “thumbs up.”
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