A sad reality in fishing is that some people exhibit blatant disregard for regulations designed to protect resources.
That appears to have been the case Wednesday in Florida, when officers cited three fishermen for possessing 102 lobsters over the legal limit.
The bust might not have occurred had the fishermen not been flying a dive flag while they were underway. (Dive flags should only be flown when divers are in the water.)
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“On the first day of the two-day mini-season, our officers saw a commercial vessel with a dive flag flying while the boat was underway,” Florida Fish and Wildlife explained in a news release. “Stopping the vessel to speak to the operator about the incorrect use of the dive flag, they conducted a routine fisheries inspection, discovering a total of 138 lobsters!”
Spiny Lobster Sport Season allows recreational harvesters to enjoy delicious crustaceans before the regular season. Our officers caught a commercial vessel flying a dive flag while underway. Upon inspection, they found 138 lobsters, well over the daily limit. The fishermen were… pic.twitter.com/rQnB8R7U1U
— MyFWC (@MyFWC) July 28, 2023
The fishermen were cited and the poached lobsters, which had perished, were collected as evidence in a case that remains under investigation.
The mini-season Florida Fish and Wildlife referred to was the Spiny Lobster Sport Season conducted Wednesday and Thursday.
–Image courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission