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FWC Law Enforcement Report: Fishing And Boating Enforcement

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following recent activity:

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer Specialist Allgood and Officer Burkhead were on patrol and observed a vessel returning to the Wilson Robertson Boat Ramp with no registration numbers. The officers conducted a safety inspection and asked the operator for his license. When running the license on the subject, it was determined the individual had an active warrant in Escambia County. The operator was arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail.

Officer Burkhead was on patrol and conducted resource inspections on four fishermen when they returned to Mahogany Mill Boat Ramp. He found them in possession of eight red snapper. The season for red snapper was closed. Officer Burkhead issued citations for the violations.

Officers Cushing and Petty were on patrol in state waters of the Gulf of Mexico, focusing on red snapper enforcement. Officer Petty issued state citations to individuals on three different vessels for being in possession of red snapper during the closed state season.

While returning from offshore, Officer Cushing observed a vessel secured to a private dock near Galvez Landing. The vessel had been seen earlier returning from the Gulf of Mexico through the Perdido Pass and at that time the Officer observed many fishing poles in the rod holders. Officer Cushing contacted the individual that was sitting next to the vessel. When questioned about catching fish, the individual denied having any. A second subject approached and denied having any fish when questioned. The third subject returned, who was the owner of the vessel and denied having any fish or catching any fish, stating that it was “too rough”. Officer Cushing observed several red snapper scales in the large cooler on the vessel. When questioned about them, the owner stated that they had one small one but threw it back. Officer Cushing asked if they had moved any fish off the vessel and they denied that they had. Officer Cushing went with the owner to get the registration for the vessel from his truck. The officer observed a fish cleaning station behind a garage. He located six red snapper in whole condition buried under ice in the sink. The season for red snapper is closed. All of the subjects were cited for the violation.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officers Corbin and Bower located a derelict vessel on Blackwater River near a local boat ramp. The vessel’s steering and engines had been removed. They spoke with the previous owner of the vessel who advised he had acquired it from a junk yard and planned on restoring the vessel, but never did. The previous owner provided information of who he gave the vessel to. After weeks of attempting to locate the owner, a phone number was located, and Officer Corbin met the new owner of the vessel. The current owner was aware of the condition of the vessel and had not been able to remove the vessel from the water to restore it. The owner of the vessel was issued a notice to appear citation for storing a derelict vessel on state waters and warning for other violations.

Officer R. Bower was on water patrol at Navarre Beach boat ramp. Two vessels were observed violating the idle speed zone. After speaking with the occupants of both vessels it was determined that the vessels were recently involved in a boating accident. The personal watercraft (PWC) struck the anchored boat, then navigated back to the boat ramp. While navigating to the boat ramp a nearby swimmer was almost struck by the operator of the PWC. The swimmer waved his arms in the air to alert the operator of the PWC. The officer conducted a boating accident investigation and interviewed the operator of the PWC and placed him under arrest for Boating Under the Influence (BUI).