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Regulations and Enforcement
Regulating Catch and Stopping Violations is one way to Conserve the Resource
| 31 July 2010
BREVARD COUNTY
Officers Philip Glover and Curtis Suggs conducted surveillance on fishermen at Sebastian Inlet. Around 3 a.m., they watched as one of the fishermen caught a 37-inch snook and hid it in his vehicle. The officers found the snook still alive and were able to release it. The man was charged with possession of snook out of season and oversize snook.
| 19 June 2010
CHARLOTTE COUNTY
Officer Jason Cooke was patrolling Little Gasparilla Pass when he conducted a fisheries inspection on a vessel. The individual on board advised he had one fish, but did not know what kind of fish it was. Officer Cooke located a 23-inch snook in the live well. The individual told Officer Cooke he was going to take it to shore so his wife could take a picture of it and then he was going to release it. The individual was issued a notice to appear for possession of undersize snook and possession of snook out of season.
| 01 June 2010
COLLIER COUNTY
After conducting early morning surveillance, Officer Thomas Van Trees pursued a subject who was running to his car while in possession of two snook. The subject was cited for possession of closed-season and over the limit snook violations. He was additionally warned for possession of undersized snook and fishing without a license.
| 01 May 2010
MARTIN COUNTY
Officer Davis Moss was on water patrol when he stopped a boat for a fisheries inspection. The subject said he had caught some pompano and opened the cooler for inspection. Officer Moss saw a bag at the bottom of the cooler and a fish tail protruding from it. The officer asked to see that fish, which was identified as an undersize, out-of-season snook. The subject said he kept it because he thought he wouldn’t get checked. A citation was issued for the violations.
| 13 March 2010
COLLIER COUNTY
Officer Doyle Cook responded to a complaint involving subjects in a boat spear fishing snook. The officer located the suspects with loaded spearing equipment on board their vessel. Officer Cook did not find any fish on board, but found blood and scales on the back deck of the boat which the subjects said came from a mullet they had just speared. Officer Cook collected evidence for forensics identification. The charter captain received a citation for illegally spear fishing within county waters. Additional charges are possible pending results from forensics testing.
| 24 February 2010
PINELLAS COUNTY
Officers Dieter Iten, William Holcomb, Bryan Beeler and Lieutenant Grant Burton were conducting a net limitation detail in Riviera Bay. Toward the end of the shift, Lieutenant Burton stopped a commercial fishing vessel in possession of approximately 1,500 pounds of ladyfish. A fisheries inspection revealed the vessel contained a snook that was undersize. The operator was subsequently charged with possession of snook out of season, harvest by illegal method, and violation of quality control (no ice on board to properly preserve the quality of the fish).
| 20 January 2010
CHARLOTTE COUNTY
Officer Cohl encountered a fisherman on Boca Grande who had two snook on the ground, next to a large cooler. A filet was on top of the cooler. Further inspection revealed dip nets and more snook. A total of twenty snook were located, ten of which were undersize. Citations were issued to the individual for taking snook during closed season, undersize snook, possession of snook taken by illegal method and over the bag limit of snook. The fish were donated to Peace River Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
| 02 December 2009
FWC on lookout for Snook Violations
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
While conducting surveillance at Sebastian Inlet, Officer Curtis Suggs saw a subject catch a snook that appeared to be under the 28-inch minimum requirement. The subject put the snook in the bed of his truck and continued fishing. Officer Suggs conducted a fisheries inspection after the subject finished fishing. The subject first stated he hadn't caught anything, but then admitted to having a 27-inch snook. He was issued a citation for the snook violation and warnings for licensing requirements.
| 20 November 2009
BREVARD COUNTY
On November 5, Officers Justin Morgan and Patrick Corley were
on land patrol on the north side of Sebastian Inlet and observed a man
leaving the catwalk headed towards his vehicle. The officers stopped
the man and asked if he had caught anything. The man stated he had not
caught any fish. However, the officers noticed a cooler in the bed of
the man’s truck and asked to check the cooler. The man gave them
permission and inside the cooler was a snook that appeared to be under
size. A measurement of the fish revealed it to be 27 ½ inches, which
was ½ of an inch shorter than the minimum size of 28 inches. The man
instantly became defensive and stated the men on the catwalk said it
looked legal. The man in violation did not have a measuring device and
was estimating the length of the fish. He was issued a misdemeanor
citation and the snook was seized and photographed.
On November 9, Officer Kris Culver was on land patrol on the
north side of Sebastian Inlet and saw an individual run by him and
place an oversized snook into his vehicle. The individual was issued a
citation for possession of oversized snook.
| 28 June 2008
FWC on lookout for Snook Violations
COLLIER COUNTY
On June 4th, Officer Doyle Cook initiated three separate “snook cases” in a single week, resulting in the issuance of seven criminal citations. First, the officer arrested a subject for possession of snook out of season after finding the fish hidden behind a battery box. The following night, the officer observed a subject cast netting for snook from a private dock. When the officer approached, the subject ran away, jumped into the bay and swam away. The subject left his girlfriend and a bucket of snook behind on the dock. She told Officer Cook the subject’s name and with the help of Naples Police Department, Officer Cook discovered that the subject was on probation and had also been ordered to serve weekend incarceration. The officer met the subject when he reported to jail and cited him for possession of snook out of season, illegal method of harvest, interference without violence and trespassing. The third case occurred when the officer issued citations to several fishermen for harvesting snook out of season.
| 30 May 2008
FWC on lookout for Snook Violations
MONROE COUNTY
On May 6, Officer Christopher Mattson arrested a diver for spearing two snook. The officer located the speared fish hidden between some rocks.
