FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report June 7, 2019 through June 13, 2019

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report Patrol, Protect, Preserve June 7, 2019 through June 13, 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 BAY COUNTY Officer N. Basford was on land patrol and crossing the Hathaway Bridge when she saw a vehicle driving erratically. The vehicle was weaving in and out of traffic and going extremely fast. The officer conducted a vehicle stop and saw signs of impairment. The operator completed the standardized field sobriety tasks and was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence and taken to the Bay County Jail. At the jail, the operator gave two breath samples of .153 blood alcohol content and .136 blood alcohol content. Officers T. Basford, Hellett and Lieutenant J. Allen were on water patrol and saw a vessel coming through Panama City Pass from off shore. They stopped the vessel to conduct a boating safety and resource inspection. The inspection revealed an undersized cobia and undersized gag grouper. The captain of the vessel was issued a citation for the undersized cobia and a written warning for the undersized gag grouper. ESCAMBIA COUNTY Officer Allgood was working fisheries enforcement and found one individual in possession of two red snapper during the closed season and another individual in possession of two undersized pompano. Both individuals were cited for the violations. Officers Clark, Long and Lugg teamed up to work the opening day of red snapper season. They documented several violations including undersized red snapper and greater amberjack.Appropriate citations were issued for the fisheries violations. They also encountered one subject with a felony warrant out of Georgia. He was arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail. While checking fishing activity on the Bob Sikes Bridge, Officers McHenry and Pettey found two individuals in possession of two oversized red drum. The subjects were attempting to hide the fish behind a trash can. Both individuals were cited for the violations. Officer Allgood was driving west on Interstate 10 when he saw a vehicle swerving across the center lane and off the edge of the road. He conducted a traffic stop and spoke to the driver. Officer Allgood saw signs of impairment and requested the driver complete standardized field sobriety tasks. The driver was arrested for DUI. GULF COUNTY Officer Specialists M. Webb and H. Webb were on JEA mid-range patrol in the Gulf of Mexico. They were patrolling the Car Bodies Reef on the opening of red snapper season when they intercepted a vessel returning from fishing. Two subjects were aboard, and a resource inspection revealed the captain was in possession of undersized red snapper. A notice to appear citation was issued to the captain. Officer Gerber was on patrol near Indian Pass when he saw a vessel returning from fishing offshore. Officer Gerber conducted a resource inspection and found the individuals to be in possession of undersized gag grouper. A notice to appear citation was issued to the captain. Lieutenant Guy was conducting administrative license and resource inspections at the Highland View Canal. During an inspection, a subject’s partner was found asleep in a vehicle with a boat and fishing gear in the bed. A closer look revealed that the pair were night flounder gigging and sleeping in the vehicle during the day. A redfish was located hidden in an ice chest separated from the other fish. After questioning the subject, he admitted to gigging the redfish. A citation was issued for take by illegal method. Officer Gerber was on patrol near the Indian Pass ramp. A vessel arrived at the ramp and it was determined to be a charter captain and four paying guests. During a resource inspection, it was discovered that the vessel had ten red snapper on board. It is a violation for a charter captain to claim a bag limit of red snapper during a chartered trip. A citation was issued to the captain for being over the bag limit. Officer Specialist H. Webb was conducting JEA dockside inspections at the Port St. Joe City boat ramp. A recreational fishing vessel arrived at the ramp. A resource inspection found several zip lock bags containing fresh king and spanish mackerel fillets. The captain admitted to catching and cleaning the fish earlier during the trip. The captain was cited for failure to land the fish in whole condition. HOLMES COUNTY Officer Homan was on patrol when he checked a camp and several subjects fishing at the mix of Wrights Creek and the Choctawhatchee River. During the checks he encountered a 17-year-old juvenile that was in possession of a soft-shell turtle out of season and a cast net that contained numerous bream that he had just taken. The subject also did not have a fishing license. He was cited accordingly and educated on the seasons and methods of take for freshwater game fish. OKALOOSA COUNTY FWC, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Walton Beach Police Department, Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco Agents, Fort Walton Beach Fire and Rescue and Okaloosa Island Fire Rescue worked the 2019 Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival in Fort Walton Beach. There were approximately 500 to 600 anchored vessels present that surrounded a local sandbar. There were 59 citations and 165 warnings issued. Officers arrested 18 vessel operators for BUI, responded to three fights and two minor medical calls. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Ramos spent several days inspecting blue crab traps for compliance with the Blue Crab Effort Management Program. Nearly 50 traps were checked for compliance and several were not tagged as required by law. Officer Ramos contacted the responsible person and issued him a citation for the violation as well as several warnings related to his traps.

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