Bobcat
10-19-2013, 07:59 AM
Poachers thought police were furloughed
Fishermen arrested with 1,556 lbs. of fish in protected Tortugas reserve
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
State and federal wildlife officials made one of their biggest fishing cases in the Dry Tortugas Wednesday despite a government shutdown that apparently led two mainland commercial fishermen to believe police would be off work.
James Evan Mooneyham, 48, and James Michael-Milas Redden, 43, both of Madeira Beach, were charged with fishing inside a protected ecological reserve within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and with harvesting fish from the same reserve.
The men are accused of removing 1,556 pounds of mostly red grouper and assorted other groupers and snapper, according to the sanctuary officials and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
They could also face civil penalties if found guilty of violating FKNMS fishing prohibitions inside the reserve, said sanctuary Superintendent Sean Morton.
Neither man said why they were fishing in the area, but told officers they were familiar with the area and had been commercial fishing since 1997.
"One of the reasons for this poaching venture is that they thought no one would be monitoring the federal Vessel Monitoring System due to the government shutdown," an FWC press release states. "The two fishermen made no attempts to hide what they were doing as they had to think no one was watching."
The Vessel Monitoring System is a real-time, satellite-based system used to monitor the movement and fishing activities of commercial fishing vessels.
Satellite tracking equipment has been mandatory on commercial reef fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005.
The systems have also been used in the South Atlantic rock shrimp fishery since 2003.
Federal agents monitoring the system on Monday alerted FWC officers in Collier County who then notified FWC officers aboard the 57-foot, high-speed NOAA-owned catamaran, Peter Gladding, which patrols the waters off the Lower Keys.
When boarded on Tuesday, the fishermen said they had been fishing in the area since Sunday. They were taken to Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island on Wednesday.
"I'm glad officers were able to conduct enforcement action," Morton said Friday. "A lot of fish were removed from the reserve that is showing tremendous numbers in the amount of grouper and snapper. Both are important commercially and recreationally and the spill-over effect is felt elsewhere in the Keys.
Taking grouper and snapper in an area known for spawning hurts everyone."
The government was clear in emphasizing that law enforcement would not be furloughed during the shutdown, but apparently not everyone heard that message, Morton said.
"We were pretty clear that while some sanctuary staff were furloughed, there was definitely no stopping of enforcement action," Morton said. "We had federally funded officers and the Peter Gladding running during the shutdown. Those who monitor the VMS systems were also on the job. It's a mistake to believe there's no enforcement during a shutdown."
Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association, said he hopes the men receive severe punishment if convicted.
"The commercial fishing industry is appalled at the severity of these fisheries violations," Kelly said. "We work closely with law enforcement and fisheries managers to preserveand protect the sustainability of our resources while providing the highest quality seafood products in the world for consumers.
"The Dry Tortuga Ecological Reserve and other protected areas throughout the Florida Keys are of paramount importance in maintaining healthy fisheries for years to come. If convicted, we urge the judiciary to apply the strongest penalties possible for these very serious offenses."
A NOAA research report released in February found that the no-take zone in the Dry Tortugas benefited the fish and did not cause the economic hardship on fishermen that was initially expected when the area was set aside in 2001 following a nearly yearlong series of workshops seeking public input. The reserve area is 151 square nautical miles.
Fishermen feared the closing of the area, which is a known snapper and grouper spawning area, would have a negative economic impact on commercial fishing in the Keys. The report shows that the fishermen were not economically impacted by the closure.
The report, "An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-Take Reserves," is the first study designed to evaluate how the Tortugas Ecological Reserve impacts the living marine resources of the region and the people whose livelihoods are connected to them.
Researchers looked at the log books of commercial and for-hire sportfishermen for five years before and five years after the area was set aside.
Once the reserve was closed, fishermen were able to find other viable fishing spots in the Dry Tortugas, the study states.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Fishermen arrested with 1,556 lbs. of fish in protected Tortugas reserve
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
State and federal wildlife officials made one of their biggest fishing cases in the Dry Tortugas Wednesday despite a government shutdown that apparently led two mainland commercial fishermen to believe police would be off work.
James Evan Mooneyham, 48, and James Michael-Milas Redden, 43, both of Madeira Beach, were charged with fishing inside a protected ecological reserve within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and with harvesting fish from the same reserve.
The men are accused of removing 1,556 pounds of mostly red grouper and assorted other groupers and snapper, according to the sanctuary officials and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
They could also face civil penalties if found guilty of violating FKNMS fishing prohibitions inside the reserve, said sanctuary Superintendent Sean Morton.
Neither man said why they were fishing in the area, but told officers they were familiar with the area and had been commercial fishing since 1997.
"One of the reasons for this poaching venture is that they thought no one would be monitoring the federal Vessel Monitoring System due to the government shutdown," an FWC press release states. "The two fishermen made no attempts to hide what they were doing as they had to think no one was watching."
The Vessel Monitoring System is a real-time, satellite-based system used to monitor the movement and fishing activities of commercial fishing vessels.
Satellite tracking equipment has been mandatory on commercial reef fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005.
The systems have also been used in the South Atlantic rock shrimp fishery since 2003.
Federal agents monitoring the system on Monday alerted FWC officers in Collier County who then notified FWC officers aboard the 57-foot, high-speed NOAA-owned catamaran, Peter Gladding, which patrols the waters off the Lower Keys.
When boarded on Tuesday, the fishermen said they had been fishing in the area since Sunday. They were taken to Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island on Wednesday.
"I'm glad officers were able to conduct enforcement action," Morton said Friday. "A lot of fish were removed from the reserve that is showing tremendous numbers in the amount of grouper and snapper. Both are important commercially and recreationally and the spill-over effect is felt elsewhere in the Keys.
Taking grouper and snapper in an area known for spawning hurts everyone."
The government was clear in emphasizing that law enforcement would not be furloughed during the shutdown, but apparently not everyone heard that message, Morton said.
"We were pretty clear that while some sanctuary staff were furloughed, there was definitely no stopping of enforcement action," Morton said. "We had federally funded officers and the Peter Gladding running during the shutdown. Those who monitor the VMS systems were also on the job. It's a mistake to believe there's no enforcement during a shutdown."
Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association, said he hopes the men receive severe punishment if convicted.
"The commercial fishing industry is appalled at the severity of these fisheries violations," Kelly said. "We work closely with law enforcement and fisheries managers to preserveand protect the sustainability of our resources while providing the highest quality seafood products in the world for consumers.
"The Dry Tortuga Ecological Reserve and other protected areas throughout the Florida Keys are of paramount importance in maintaining healthy fisheries for years to come. If convicted, we urge the judiciary to apply the strongest penalties possible for these very serious offenses."
A NOAA research report released in February found that the no-take zone in the Dry Tortugas benefited the fish and did not cause the economic hardship on fishermen that was initially expected when the area was set aside in 2001 following a nearly yearlong series of workshops seeking public input. The reserve area is 151 square nautical miles.
Fishermen feared the closing of the area, which is a known snapper and grouper spawning area, would have a negative economic impact on commercial fishing in the Keys. The report shows that the fishermen were not economically impacted by the closure.
The report, "An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-Take Reserves," is the first study designed to evaluate how the Tortugas Ecological Reserve impacts the living marine resources of the region and the people whose livelihoods are connected to them.
Researchers looked at the log books of commercial and for-hire sportfishermen for five years before and five years after the area was set aside.
Once the reserve was closed, fishermen were able to find other viable fishing spots in the Dry Tortugas, the study states.
alinhardt@keysnews.com