FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 9, 2019 through August 15, 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 August 9, 2019 through August 15, 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 Officers Brady and Rice were conducting vessel patrol in St. Andrews Bay near Deepwater Point. They saw a vessel with two people on board returning from off shore and conducted a stop for a boating safety inspection. The officers noticed two spear guns on the deck of the vessel near the console and asked if they had caught anything. They replied that they had one grouper that measured around 23 inches. The officers asked if they knew the size requirement for gag grouper and they replied 24. The officers measured the gag grouper and found it to be 22.5 inches. When asked about it again they said they shot the fish while spearfishing and didn’t want it to go to waste. The appropriate citation was issued. CALHOUN COUNTY Officer Baber was at Blountstown Landing along the Apalachicola River when he saw a truck pull into the parking lot towing a boat. Two occupants got out and began taking catfish out of the boat and put them on a stringer. Officer Baber contacted the subjects and noticed there were no fishing poles in the boat, but there was a gig. He also noticed gig marks on the underside of the fish as if they had been floating when they were gigged. Officer Baber interviewed the subjects and they admitted they had shocked the fish. The driver of the truck retrieved a shocking device from the toolbox of the truck. Both subjects provided sworn written statements. The subjects were cited for taking nongame fish by an illegal method. ESCAMBIA COUNTY Officer Specialist McHenry conducted a resource inspection on an individual fishing at the Fort Pickens Fishing Pier. He was found in possession of 40 Spanish mackerel, 32 of which were undersized. The individual claimed two of his children helped catch the fish. Officer Specialist McHenry seized the illegal fish and cited the individual. Officer Allgood was patrolling near the Navy Point Boat Ramp when he noticed a vessel returning to the ramp without the proper navigational lights. After the individual loaded his vessel on his trailer and pulled it into the parking lot, Officer Allgood approached him. The person showed several signs of impairment and field sobriety tasks were conducted. The subject was arrested for driving under the influence, failure to give a breath sample and other misdemeanor charges. FRANKLIN COUNTY Officers Mcleod and Travis were working around the John Gorrie Bridge when they observed three subjects on a boat with a net. After observing the subjects for several hours and watching them retrieve the net, they conducted a resource inspection. The subjects were in possession of a large monofilament gill net. The subjects were arrested and the net was seized. GULF COUNTY Officer McMillion was patrolling the Apalachicola River when he stopped a vessel to conduct a resource inspection. The subjects on board were in possession of a shocking device, lead wire, and dip net. Two misdemeanor citations were issued for harvesting freshwater fish by an illegal method. Officer McMillion approached a vessel at an area boat ramp in St. Joseph Bay to conduct a resource inspection. He discovered two bait buckets containing bay scallops. Due to bay scallop restoration efforts, the season for bay scallops in the waters of St. Joseph Bay is currently closed. The two occupants were issued misdemeanor citations and the two gallons of whole scallops were returned to the water alive. OKALOOSA COUNTY Officers Corbin and Ramos were on water patrol when they saw a vessel being operated in violation of the idle speed/no wake zone in Destin. A stop was conducted to address the violation and conduct a boating safety inspection. There were numerous empty alcoholic beverage containers in the boat and the operator showed signs of impairment. Field sobriety tasks were conducted, and the operator was arrested for boating under the influence. Officer Corbin was on patrol when he saw several subjects catching crabs at a local marina. A cooler was located near the subjects and a resource inspection was conducted revealing two whole stone crabs in the cooler. Two subjects claimed responsibility for keeping the stone crabs and neither subject had a saltwater fishing license. Both subjects were issued citations accordingly. Officer Corbin was on patrol when he saw a subject fishing from a local pier. A resource inspection was conducted, and a filleted spotted seatrout was located in a bait bucket. The subject admitted to catching and filleting the seatrout and was issued a notice to appear citation for the violation. Officers Corbin, Bradshaw, and White were on water patrol when they saw a vessel being operated in violation of the idle speed/no wake zone in Destin. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation. The operator showed signs of impairment and field sobriety tasks were given. The operator was arrested for boating under the influence and refused to provide a breath sample. Officers Corbin, Tyson, and Letcher were on water patrol when they saw a vessel being operated while exceeding its capacity plate. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation and to conduct a boating safety inspection. Alcohol was present and the crew appeared to be under the influence. The operator performed field sobriety tasks and was arrested for boating under the influence. He also refused to provide a breath sample. Officer Corbin was on patrol when he saw a vessel returning to a local boat ramp. A resource inspection located a 31-inch redfish. The subject was issued a notice to appear citation for the violation. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Mullins received information that a subject was in possession of a gopher tortoise. The officer located the subject and discovered he had two gopher tortoises in an enclosure at his residence. The subject had the tortoises for some time and had been caring for them as pets. Officer Mullins issued a notice to appear for possession of a threatened and endangered species and the gopher tortoises were returned to the wild. WALTON COUNTY Officers Tison and Brooks were patrolling the Choctawhatchee River when they observed two subjects in the process of removing dead head logs. The subjects did not have a dredge and fill permit which is required to transport the logs upon state waters. The subjects were cited for the permit violation and one of them was taken into custody for an active warrant.

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