Authorities are investigating the death of an 11-foot female sawfish, weighing between 400 and 500 pounds, found dead Tuesday.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers have taken the carcass of the critically endangered species to a lab in Port Charlotte, where it will be studied by scientists, according to FWC spokesman Bobby Dube.
Monroe County Sheriffâs Office Lower Keys Marine Deputy Ed Swogger assisted the FWC officers when callers reported finding the protected fish near Marvin Key at approximately 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sheriffâs Office spokesman Adam Linhardt said.
The fish was loaded onto a Sheriffâs Office patrol vessel and was later transported by the FWC to a lab in Port Charlotte for study.
An announcement asking for help in identifying two men suspected of cutting a pelicanâs gullet and then pulling the tissue over its head in the Upper Keys has sparked considerable attention to the situation since being posted last week.
State wildlife officers released surveillance footage on Facebook of two suspects who allegedly maimed the bird on the evening of March 8 at the Tea Table Relief Bridge in Islamorada. The two men appear to be carrying fishing poles in the video.
Passersby saw the bird and alerted authorities. It was brought to the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center in Tavernier and euthanized. The rehabilitation centerâs executive director, Jordan Budnik, said that was all that could humanely be done for the animal.
Caught Red-Handed
Mar 4, 2021
I get tired of reading comments by commercial fisherman that recreational anglers ignore the law and overfish their share of popular species. However, an arrest by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission puts the shoe on the other foot.
Two commercial fishermen in Florida were jailed last week for possessing an illegal haul after a Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy stopped their van for speeding and following too closely in the Keys. As the
Miami Herald’s Gwen Filosa
reported, the deputy “smelled something fishy.”
Indeed, there was.
The deputy reported that he could smell fish as he approached the van and called in officers from FWC. They discovered a haul of illegal seafood that started with 100 undersized wring lobster tails.
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The Coast Guard came cross the floating tiki bar Wednesday morning, with a man slumped over the controls.
Marine officers in Key West foiled an unusual boat heist Wednesday morning.
At about 8 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard came across a 15-foot floating tiki bar off Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West.
Cruisin tikis, as they re called, are circular boats with a bar. They carry up to six passengers and are rented out for things like sunset cruises or floating bachelorette parties.
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A Marco Island man has been arrested and charged in the death of a man who was riding in his boat last July and died after the man was ejected from the boat and struck by the propeller.
Authorities have charged David Brandon Werning, 27, of Marco Island, with vessel homicide, by killing a human being by the operation of his vessel in a reckless manner, likely to cause the death of, or great bodily harm to, another, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Bobby Dube said.
Werning surrendered to authorities on Thursday and was being held Friday on $150,000.
The accident occurred about 5:30 p.m. July 17 in the area of Yacht Channel, five miles north of Long Key Bridge, according to the FWC. Werning was operating a 34-foot Contender boat with four occupants, from Marco Island to Islamorada. While in route to Islamorada, they observed severe weather conditions on the radar and were experiencing mechanical issues with the engines, Dube said.