FWC Law Enforcement Report

June 28, 2016

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending June 23 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer Cushing conducted fisheries inspections near the Pensacola Pass. During one inspection, the occupants on board claimed to have only king mackerel and mingo snapper. While on board, Officer Cushing discovered an undersized gray triggerfish. The season for gray triggerfish is closed. A citation was issued to the individual who caught the fish.

Officer Cushing received a phone call from a concerned citizen who had observed an individual on the beach at Ft. Pickens carrying an oversized redfish from the beach toward the parking lot. After beaching his vessel on the bayside, he proceeded to the parking lot and observed one of the individuals described to him by the complainant. Upon initial contact, the individual slumped his head and confessed that he had the oversized redfish in his truck. Upon further inspection, the individual had a total of three oversized redfish in a cooler in his truck. Citations were issued for oversized and over‑the‑bag limit of redfish.

On board the FinCat, officers patrolled in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. They approached a vessel that was fishing and asked the captain if they had any fish on board. The captain stated that they only had white snapper on board. After boarding the vessel, the officers discovered a large triggerfish. The crew claimed they forgot putting the fish on the vessel. The captain of the vessel was issued a federal citation for the violation.

Officer Land conducted a derelict vessel investigation on a sailboat that had been left in a wrecked condition at Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze. The vessel had become grounded and the interior had filled with water. The registered owners of the vessel were notified and given a deadline to remove the vessel or restore it to working order. The vessel remained untouched by the owners and continued to deteriorate. Officer Land issued a notice to appear to each of the registered owners for abandoning a derelict vessel on the waters of the state.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Lieutenant Hahr and Officers Hutchinson and Clark were on foot patrol at the steel bridge on Coldwater Creek. They observed a group of individuals on a sandbar smoking cannabis. The officers made contact and interviewed the subjects. Upon conclusion of the interviews, three of the subjects surrendered baggies of cannabis and one cannabis cigarette. A total of four citations were issued for possession of cannabis under 20 grams and one citation was issued for possession of paraphernalia.

Officers Hutchinson and Clark were on foot patrol on Coldwater Creek and observed a group of males and females on the sandbar drinking alcohol. They made contact and asked if everyone was 21 or older. Four of the females stated they were not. One of the males who was 21 years old was observed sharing an alcoholic beverage with one of the underage females. Four citations were issued for possession of alcohol by persons under 21 and one citation was issued for contributing to the delinquency of a minor: giving alcohol to a person under 21.

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. Information provided by FWC.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News