Animals

Wanted: Fast stone-crab eaters in the Florida Keys

The much-anticipated opening of Florida’s stone crab season takes place Oct. 15 but the 2011-12 season opening is going to be followed by a tasty test of crab-consuming capacity.

The inaugural Stone Crab Eating Contest, a challenge for amateur eaters, is set for Oct. 22 beginning at 1 p.m. at Keys Fisheries Market & Marina, off U.S. 1 at 35th Street bayside, Marathon.

Entrants must register and be present by noon the day of the event, and are tasked with cracking and eating 25 stone crab claws, picking them completely clean, in the fastest time. In the event of a tie, those competitors must face off in a 10-claw competition to determine the winner.

Prizes are to be awarded to the top three finishers. The first-place winner is to receive a two-night lodging package at Key West’s Doubletree Grand Key Resort featuring champagne, dinner for two and a sunset cruise on a tall ship or catamaran.

The second-place crab consumer earns a Swim with the Dolphins package at the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key, while the third-place finisher wins a $50 Keys Fisheries gift certificate.

The entry fee is $25 per contestant, and you must be at least 18. The contest is limited to 50 participants. Among the rules:

No professional eaters — amateurs only.
Contestants will be allowed to drink water during the competition.
If a contestant throws up, he or she is automatically disqualified.
Grounds for disqualification include:

Not disclosing risks that could jeopardize the contestant’s health or well-being.
Being under the influence of any substance.
Your appearance and/or clothing is deemed inappropriate (dress is Keys attire).
Starting prior to the start signal.
Any food in a competitor’s mouth at the final whistle counts toward the final tally if the competitor chews and swallows that portion of the competitive food. But competitors may not stuff food into their mouth in the final seconds of the contest to increase their total. Judges have the discretion to impose penalties on those who do.

Stone crabs are considered by many to be the finest Florida seafood for their succulent claw meat. In addition, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, they are the state’s only renewable seafood resource. Legal-size claws are harvested between Oct. 15 and May 15 each year, and the crab’s body is returned to the water to generate new claws.

To register for the contest, go to www.keysfisheries.com.

Roseate Spoonbill Rebound Relieves Florida Bay Watchers

BY ROBERT SILK Free Press Staff
rsilk@keysnews.com

FLORIDA BAY — More than twice as many roseate spoonbills built nests in Florida Bay this winter than last, researchers at Audubon of Florida’s Tavernier Science Center say.

The increase to 179 nests this year, combined with the first-ever count of a 166 nest colony just a couple miles inland of the north central bay, has assuaged fears that the beloved pink, red and white bird might be on the verge of abandoning Florida Bay as a nesting sight entirely.

Last year’s count of just 87 spoonbill nests in the 850-square-mile estuary was the lowest of any season in six decades and barely a third of 2010′s count.

“I had hoped that last year was a fluke,” said Jerry Lorenz, an Audubon biologist who heads the Tavernier Science Center. “But I was still terrified that we wouldn’t have any birds, especially since they didn’t show up until late.”

Spoonbills typically nest from November through the late winter in Florida Bay, but this season they didn’t begin their work until late December. Because they are especially dependent upon the normal summer wet/winter dry seasonal cycle of the Everglades, the bird is considered a key indicator species of the health of Florida Bay.

Nest counts often go down in years when the dry season is not as dry as usual, a scenario that robs spoonbills of foraging grounds.

But what made the 2011 nesting season so alarming was that climatic conditions were ideal. A typical wet season was followed by a dry winter, yet the nest count dropped precipitously.

Lorenz said scientists simply don’t know what happened last year. Some of the Florida Bay spoonbills may have chosen to nest in what is called Water Conservation Area 3 — a swath of the Everglades watershed to the west of Fort Lauderdale — where the number of nests was up sharply.

But those nesting birds were not positively identified as Florida Bay birds through the banding system Audubon researchers have in place.

Researchers also can’t be sure why the spoonbills have found Florida Bay more hospitable this year.

Lorenz’s guess is that the area is seeing the payoff from improved management practices put in place by the South Florida Water Management District in 2005.

That, combined with the good weather conditions that prevailed through the second half of last decade, led to a series of years between 2006 and 2009 with a better than average number of successful fledglings per nest. Now many of those birds are reaching sexual maturity.

“What I think happened this year is that steady climb came to fruition,” Lorenz said.

Still, this year’s spoonbill nest count is well below what Florida Bay was experiencing just six years ago.

Audubon researchers counted 547 nests in the bay in 2006. The number slid steadily after that, bottoming at last year’s 87, before this year’s rebound to 179.

The first-ever count of the difficult to reach colony just inland of the north central bay likely accounts for some of that decline, though Lorenz cautions that the colony has definitely been around for at least two years, and it may have existed for five or six years.

Still, he’s optimistic that the local spoonbill population will increase over the next couple years. A recently completed Everglades restoration project designed to improve water flow into Florida Bay should make a big difference, he said.

Plus, those fledglings from 2006 to 2009 will continue to reach breeding age.

“It would really make me happy to have this prediction come true,” Lorenz said.

rsilk@keysnews.com

LOCAL Lobster Mobsters Charged

The end of Memorial Day weekend did not end on-the-water enforcement, two Upper Keys residents learned.

Gabriel L. Cultuli, 33, of Key Largo and Brian S. Gwilliam, 34, of Tavernier were each charged Tuesday with two misdemeanor counts for possessing illegally taken lobster.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office marine Deputy Nelson Sanchez saw the two suspects snorkeling in the bayside off mile marker 88 around 10 a.m. after responding to a report of possible lobster diving. When Sanchez confronted the two men in the water, they reportedly had a mesh bag containing five live lobsters, which Sanchez described as visibly undersized.

“I then told them that I was very disappointed to find local people taking lobster out of season,” Sanchez said in his report, “to which [Cultuli] stated that he was just trying to get some dinner.”

The lobster were released. Each man was charged with possessing an undersized lobster and an out-of-season lobster.

By KEVIN WADLOW kwadlow@keynoter.com

Two Local Lobster Mobsters Plead Guilty in Casita Case

Two Lower Keys commercial lobster divers pleaded guilty Monday to using illegal artificial habitats called casitas to harvest lobster.

Michael Kimbler, 44, and Michael Bland, 31, entered the pleas in federal court in Key West. Both admitted to sinking illegal casitas in the waters off the Lower Keys to attract lobster, which they subsequently harvested. As part of their plea deals, they also admitted to using another commercial fisherman’s license to exceed the 250-lobster daily bag limit. Kimbler sold lobster using a license belonging to his brother, Carl, who lives in South Dakota, according to court documents.

Kimbler and Bland forfeited their commercial fishing boats and agreed to remove the casitas. They also agreed to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service, which will determine whether they paid the correct amount of income tax for the lobster they harvested.

Kimbler and Bland were arraigned Monday morning on charges of violating the federal animal conservation law, called the Lacey Act, and pleaded guilty that afternoon. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 19. Both men face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, Judge James Lawrence King said.

Both men are firefighters. Kimbler, who owns Kimbler Diving Enterprises of Key West, has been a firefighter at Naval Air Station Key West on Boca Chica Key for 14 years.

Navy officials will conduct a review of Kimbler’s arrest and conviction, and will take action after he is sentenced, said Navy spokeswoman Trice Denny.

Bland, who lives on Big Coppitt Key, has been a firefighter with Monroe County for nine years, records state. He “can’t work for us,” county Fire Chief Jim Callahan said Monday, though Callahan was unsure if the conviction will affect Bland’s state pension.

The investigation of Kimbler and Bland, part of a larger, ongoing investigation, dates back to 2007. Investigators determined the divers first placed artificial habitat on June 1, 2007, and two months later the two harvested 1,116 pounds of lobster worth $7,714, court documents state. Federal prosecutor Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald estimated that Kimbler’s involvement in the scheme added up to more than $200,000 in retail value of lobster, while Bland’s exceeded $70,000.

Investigators and prosecutors documented multiple cases between 2007 and 2011 in which the two men dived on casitas, harvested lobster and violated spiny lobster bag limits, court records state.

Kimbler and Bland are the latest in a series of commercial divers and fishermen who have been arrested and convicted on federal charges in the past two years. The convictions come as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and other fishery managers are debating the possibility of legalizing casitas. FWC officials are reviewing recent studies and researching whether they can legally lease state bay bottom for the use of casitas.

Casita advocates argue they are more environmentally friendly than traps. Opponents contend the fishermen are sinking car hoods, old oil drums, hurricane shutters and other environmentally damaging trash to attract lobsters.

tohara@keysnews.com

Snapper Ledge fishing not banned

Sanctuary still considering what South Atlantic council avoided.

Federal fishery managers have backed off a proposed fishing ban at Snapper Ledge, but local marine sanctuary managers still are considering imposing one for the popular Upper Keys dive spot. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which met in Georgia this week, has agreed to let the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary decide if Snapper Ledge needs to be designated a Special Protection Area, which could result in it being a no-fishing zone.

Sanctuary managers are considering closing the area as part of a massive review of all of its management plans and rules, but no changes will be made until the review is complete in about 2014. “We are going to address it as part of the review,” Sanctuary Superintendent Sean Morton said. “They (the council) could have stopped fishing right away.”

Related Posts

• Snapper Ledge Reef, in the Florida Keys, Protection is Fast-Tracked

Key West Captain Cited With Illegal Possession of 60 Stone Crab Claws

The state wildlife agency confiscated 60 out-of-season stone crab claws from a Key West boat coming home at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, says the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The commercial fisherman and captain of the Maru was cited with illegal possession of the claws and interference with an FWC officer, both misdemeanors. He was issued a notice to appear in court.

The Maru was south of Key West, returning to port, when the captain apparently saw FWC Lt. Roy Payne approaching and made a sharp turn, speeding up, as the crew dumped overboard white trash bags of the claws.

The captain at first denied the crime, but after the officer found similar trash bags aboard, he and his mate allegedly admitted to it and wrote out confessions.

Another Florida Keys Lobster Mobster Gets Jail Time

By KEVIN WADLOW kwadlow@keynoter.com

A Miami commercial fisherman was sentenced Monday to six months in jail and permanently stripped of his commercial licenses in the wake of his September 2009 arrest for molesting lobster traps.

Juan Morales, 67, was sentenced by Monroe County Judge Ruth Becker in a hearing at the Marathon courthouse. Morales reached a plea agreement with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office on five felony counts of molesting a lobster trap and one count of lobster-trap theft that initially called for nine months in jail.

He also faces five years of probation, during which he will be banned from any boating in the Keys.

“He’s essentially out of the business,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association.

“Keeping [Morales] off the water means as much to our commercial fishermen as the jail sentence,” Kelly said. “He can’t even take a boat ride with his buddies.” A large group of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers turned out for the sentencing.

According to an FWC arrest report, Morales and an accomplice were photographed on their 32-foot commercial boat pulling other fishermen’s traps from Duck Key to Long Key.

“Judge Becker told him that he was literally stealing food from the plates of honest commercial fishermen,” Kelly said. “This sends a strong message to lobster thieves that if they try to do business in Monroe County, there’s a good chance they’re going to be caught.”

The 2009 lobster season opened with a rash of reported trap thefts, particularly in Upper Keys waters. After six people were arrested in three separate incidents, Kelly said, “traps theft virtually came to a halt in the area.”

Three Lobster Mobsters Charged for Taking 43 Illegal Lobster

By KEVIN WADLOW kwadlow@keynoter.com

A haul of 45 illegally taken lobster was seized Thursday when a state marine officer found three men unloading a cooler in Key Largo.

Two Key Largo residents — Jorge Valdes, 44, and Yoan Garcia, 32 — were arrested along with Miami resident Raul J. Fauramil, 52, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

FWC Officer Jason Rafter found a suspect vehicle parked near mile marker 100 around 4:30 p.m. Thursday after a National Marine Fisheries Service agent reported what appeared to be illegal activity. When Rafter approached the three men, Valdes reportedly ran off. He later surrendered to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Rafter said in his report that he recovered 45 wrung lobster tails, all apparently taken out of season. Of those, 30 tails were below the minimum size limit. Six out-of-season black grouper also were found.

The three men were charged with misdemeanor counts of possessing undersized and out-of-season lobster, and for having out-of-season grouper. Valdes additionally was charged with a felony for fleeing from officers.

Spearguns, dive equipment and a GPS device were seized along with the contraband fish.

Protect the Key Deer by Not Feeding Them

By Kate Perry
Biological technician, National Key Deer Refuge
Big Pine Key

As a kid, I brought home every creature I could catch. I kidnapped lizards, frogs, ducklings and various types of turtles. I also named every Key deer that came into our yard.

I remember Nicey, Big Guy, Jackie and Dude. One day while my mom was taking my brother and me to school, we saw a buck tangled in the soccer net at Watson Field. My mom called the National Key Deer Refuge and soon enough, a pickup truck full of big guys drove up. They all jumped out and tackled the deer and cut him out of that net. I was so impressed. Ever since that day, I knew that I wanted to help the Key deer, too.

Every year, the National Key Deer Refuge responds to hundreds of Key deer emergencies, most of which are the direct result of human impacts. So what can we all do to help Key deer? Don’t feed them. It’s such a simple thing. By refraining from feeding deer, it helps keep them out of harm’s way.

Feeding deer (intentionally or not, this includes handouts, unsecured garbage, even landscaping) attracts deer to human areas like roadsides and neighborhoods, exposing them to unnatural dangers such as cars, dogs and entanglement in fences. It also encourages them to congregate in unnaturally high densities, allowing more risk of spreading diseases like lumpy jaw and Johne’s disease.

Also, once they associate these human places with food, they teach their offspring the same bad behaviors. When deer start dumpster diving, they begin to ingest dangerous items like plastic bags, diapers and dental floss (all stuff we’ve pulled out of their stomachs). They also commonly step in garbage such as metal or plastic, which becomes wrapped around their ankles or embedded in their hoofs.

Examples of items we’ve removed include plastic milk and soda bottle rings, PVC pipes, zip ties and a metal key ring. We’ve also seen deer that became tangled in ropes, bungie cords, plastic bags, Christmas lights and fishing line, all from getting into people’s garbage.

Some foods have been known to cause bloat and impaction of the intestines. For example, cracked corn (which is also found in many types of bird seed) can block digestion and cause the intestines to rupture, resulting in death.

We can also assume that deer that regularly eat high-calorie foods (including human food and pet food) will prefer this unnatural junk food and avoid their natural, healthy food. This, obviously, can cause nutritional complications such as poor skin, coat and bone development, and even high cholesterol, which all leaves the animal in poor condition to fight off illnesses or parasites they may contract.

Dependency on supplemental feeding has been observed in many animals, not just Key deer. When an individual or neighborhood regularly provides food/water to an animal, it can become dependent on that source and will not learn how to forage on its own.

In the three years I have been employed at the National Key Deer Refuge, I have seen many deer in need of help. I still name many of them, too. There’s Fred, Dizzy, Nana, Bones, Michael, Limpy, Rosebud, Bucky and Popeye.

Many deer have touched my heart like Limpy, a fawn who had a metal key ring embedded in her ankle. We were able to rehabilitate and release her. And Fred, whose story doesn’t have a happy ending, but he taught me the importance of having the courage to make hard decisions.

My love for the Key deer and all wildlife has certainly evolved since I was a kid. I’ve come to realize that interacting with them ultimately had a negative impact on them and if I really cared for these animals, I had to let them be wild.

I know people who feed the deer have good intentions, but feeding them more often than not does more harm than good. In addition, it is a violation of the Endangered Species Act, making it a federal offense. If you see a sick or injured Key deer, please call our 24-hour emergency hotline at 304-9628.

Lobster Mobster Caught in Key Largo Canal

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers arrested a Miami-Dade County man last Sunday after they say they saw him wringing undersized lobster tails and chopping up the rest of the carcasses.

FWC officers got a call from the Port Largo neighborhood around mile marker 100 complaining that some men were taking short spiny lobsters out of the canal. Lobsters are also out of season now.

When Officer Jason Rafter arrived, all the men had gotten out of the canal, but Rafter said he saw one of them, 44-year-old Carlos Daniel, wringing the tails off some lobsters and using a knife to cut them, FWC spokesman Officer Robert Dube said.

Rafter and two other FWC officers approached Daniel and arrested him.

They seized four whole undersized lobsters, 15 undersized lobster tails, and about 3 pounds of filleted lobster tail meat.

Daniel is facing multiple misdemeanor counts for possession of undersized lobsters, out of season lobsters and lobsters over the bag limit. He was booked into Plantation Key Jail and later released.

Lobster season ran from Aug. 6, 2010 to March 31, and doesn’t reopen until July.