The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FWC proposed draft rule amendments Thursday to provide more protection for bonefish, a premier saltwater game fish in Florida.”Bonefish are a tremendous Florida resource,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “These proposed rules will strengthen our management approach to protect and preserve bonefish so that anglers can continue to enjoy fishing for this great Florida game fish.”The proposed rules would include all species of bonefish in the FWCs bonefish management rules to help ensure that all bonefish in Florida waters are protected, extend FWC bonefish regulations into adjacent federal waters to aid enforcement and enhance bonefish protection, and require that bonefish be landed in whole condition to help officers in the field identify bonefish and aid in enforcement of bag and size limits.
Since 1988, it has been illegal to commercially harvest and sell bonefish in Florida, and a daily recreational bag limit of one bonefish 18 inches or greater in fork length applies.However, there is a temporary harvest and possession prohibition on bonefish in Florida until April 1 as a precaution, because of possible impacts to fish populations that may have occurred from the recent prolonged cold weather in Florida. Anglers may still catch and release bonefish during the temporary closure, and the FWC encourages everyone to handle and release them carefully to help ensure their survival upon release.A final public hearing on these proposed bonefish rule amendments will take place during the FWCs April meeting in the Tallahassee area.
1. You have a power worm dangling from you rear view mirror because you think it makes a good air freshener.
2. You wedding party has to tie tin cans to the back of your boat.
3. You call your boat “sweetheart” and your wife “skeeter.”
4. Your local tackle shop has your credit card number on file.
5. You keep a flippin stick by your favorite chair to change the tv channels with.
6. You get 40 to life because your teenager asked you to buy a jet ski.
7. You name your black lab “Mercury” and your cat “Evinrude”.
8. Bass Pro Shop has a private line just for you.
9. You honeymooned in Islamorada – ALONE.
10. You have your name painted on a parking space at the launch ramp.
11. You have a photo of your 40 lb. grouper on your desk at work instead of your family.
12. You consider viennies and crackers a complete meal.
13. You think MEGABYTES means a great day fishing.
14. You send your kid off to the first day of school with his shoes tied in a polomar knot.
15. Your wife wears green lipstick so you’ll kiss her more.
16. You think there are four seasons – Pre-spawn, Spawn, Post spawn and Hunting.
17. Your $30,000 boat’s trailer need’s tires so you “borrow” the one’s off your trailer house.
18. Your wife tells you she is feeling “frisky” but you don’t know what she means until she explains she wants to spawn.
19. You trade your wife’s van for a smaller vehicle so your boat will fit in the garage.
20. Your kids know it’s Saturday – because the boat is gone.
Two Bay Point men were sentenced to a year in prison on charges that they conspired to poach lobster, a judge ruled Monday, closing the last chapter on two illegal lobster harvesting cases that snared eight people.
John Buckheim, 23, and Nick Demauro, 24, both apologized to federal Judge James Lawrence King, their friends, family and wildlife officers.
“I acknowledge and take full responsibility for what I did,” Buckheim said. “I was young and stupid and I’m not implying that I’m old or wise now, only that I’m heading in the right direction. … I’m sorry for this major mistake and you won’t find me in this position again.”
Demauro told the judge he had “taken everything for granted.”
Both men pleaded guilty in October to harvesting lobsters by diving on illegal artificial habitats, called casitas, primarily in the Content Keys area north of Big Pine Key, from July 2008 through October 2008, according to court documents.
The judge granted U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald’s request to delay their prison sentence 100 days so both men can continue their work removing as many as 600 casitas from Florida Keys waters. The judge ordered both to surrender to corrections officials on May 12.
The judge also allowed both men to resume legal commercial fishing immediately upon their release from prison, despite the prosecutor’s recommendation that both be prohibited during the two years of supervision that is to follow their release.
Miami defense attorneys Bruce Alter and Steven Potolsky urged the judge to consider the defendants’ ages, their clean criminal histories and their desire to make amends as mitigating factors at sentencing, but the prosecutor was unmoved, painting the men as astute fishermen who knew the risks involved.
“These were not youths who stumbled into this,” the prosecutor told the judge, describing taped conversations between the two men, and the hundreds of casitas they fished.
Buckheim and Demauro worked for David and Denise Dreifort of Cudjoe Key at one time. The latter were sentenced in July for spearheading a large lobster poaching ring that involved four other people, in a separate but related case. David Dreifort was sentenced to 2¬½ years in prison in July. His wife was sentenced to seven months in prison. Prosecutors found thousands of lobsters at one of their homes on Lookdown Lane last year.
Buckheim and Demauro began their own illegal operation after their stint with the Dreiforts, and they sold lobster to a Stock Island seafood company in 32 separate incidents for a total of $45,974, records say. The company has not been charged in the case, the prosecutor said.
Both men were warned by David Dreifort to cease their operation after he was indicted, but they continued, the prosecutor said. Federal agents began visual and electronic surveillance of Buckheim and Demauro during the larger investigation that involved the Dreiforts, reports say.
Both pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped two charges that could have added at least 10 years to their sentences.
Jury selection began Monday and open arguments are expected today in the lobster trap molesting trial of three Key West residents. Harry Bethel Jr. faces two felony counts of lobster trap molesting for allegedly pulling fishermens traps near Mayland Shoal in the Atlantic Ocean off Sugarloaf Key in January 2008. Bethel, Lawrence Pinder, 59, and M. Shamus Davis, 30, rejected a plea agreement that called for a year in prison.Bethel is the namesake of a former Key West city commissioner and current Key West Bight Board chairman.
Among the handful of new laws that will begin to be enforced on New Year’s Day, will be a handful that specifically impacts boaters across the state. The new laws will apply not only to boaters, but also to those of you who enjoy a nice ride on a personal water craft.
One new law that will impact everyone will be new licensing requirements to operate a sea craft. Anyone who wants to operate a boat or personal water craft has to be older than 22 years old. To get a permit, a person must take a course approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Association or take a “How to Boat Smart” correspondence course.
Once a class has been completed, you must submit a letter with your name, date of birth, return address, phone number, and proof of completion of the course to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Out of state visitors who don’t have a card issued by their home state will be allowed to take a temporary certificate test.
In addition, the penalty for boating under the influence has been enhanced to match the penalty for driving under the influence. The blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol level was also lowered from 0.20 to 0.15.
Click here for more information on the new licensing requirements from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Restorative justice may include casita removalOperation Freezer Burn, a multiyear investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies, took down two of the most legendary lobster poachers in the Florida Keys, Dave Dreifort, and his wife, Denise. Sentenced to 30 months and seven months respectively, the couple also was ordered to forfeit more than $1 million in property.
In addition to the Dreiforts, the investigation secured four other convictions with sentences ranging from 10 months in prison to a year on parole.A subsequent investigation, dubbed Frost Bite, successfully nabbed two more men who had worked with the Dreiforts in the past, John Buckheim and Nick Demauro, both 23 years old. Each of these men has pleaded guilty and now await their sentences.In the latter case, we have seen something a bit different. Buckheim and Demauro have taken it upon themselves to start undoing some of the harm they have done.In addition to poaching lobsters, much of the case made by the government revolved around illegal lobster habitats, or “casitas.”
These are man-made structures — often old oil drums or discarded appliances — intended to attract lobsters so they can be easily, and illegally, harvested.Tens of thousands of these casitas scattered throughout Florida Keys waters create what many experts consider an ecological disaster, disrupting natural migration patterns and tearing up the sea floor. Removal of the artificial lobster habitats is a major priority for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, but hiring commercial salvors for the job is very expensive.While awaiting their sentencing, Buckheim and Demauro, with the permission of sanctuary officials, have been removing hundreds of the illegally placed casitas from the Gulf of Mexico.
Their motivation is simple: to show they have taken responsibility for their actions and are helping repair the harm they and others have done. And, of course, they hope to curry favor with the judge who will be handing down their sentences.In legal circles, this behavior is referred to as restorative justice.These young men are far from role models, and they certainly should experience consequences for breaking the law. But we cannot help but note that their pre-emptive corrective action contributes to a sense that justice has been better served in this case than in others where the criminals are serving jail time.The debris littering the ocean floor must be removed. It can be done by contractors at considerable taxpayer expense or it can be done at little to no cost by Buckheim and Demauro. We hope the court considers this when considering what sentence best fits the crime — and the public good.–
Stanley Switlik Elementary School fifth graders recently spent the day at Sea Camp on Big Pine Key learning about nature and man's impact on the environment.
Students dug through algae to find brittle stars, worms, sea cucumbers, crabs and even shrimp. Staff assisted as students practiced snorkeling in the swim area before going out on the boats in the afternoon.
An afternoon snorkeling close to the mangroves gave the fifth graders a closeup look at lobster, moon jellyfish, different types of coral and sponges, snapper, and sea grasses.
Students learned how pollution causes harm to the near shore environment, and why certain sponges cause rashes. They even got a chance to practice some science, learning about the structure of sponges.
Sea Camp donated the trip for 88 Switlik students, teachers, and chaperons.
Seacamp is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that operates on the cooperative effort of parents, scientists, businessmen, camp leaders and others dedicated to the education of youth in marine science.
Located at Newfound Harbor on Big Pine Key, Sea Camp includes a science lab, recreation hall, dining hall, arts and crafts building, four dormitories and staff housing, along with other services including an infirmary.
Anyone interested in Sea Camp's mission, or working as a volunteer is invited to join the Seacamp Association, located at 1300 Big Pine Ave., Big Pine Key. For more information, call 872-2331.
Everglades National Park has opened two new backcountry campsites.
The remote, open-air chickees are accessible via open water to boaters, canoers and kayakers.
The Shark Point site is 7.5 miles east of Flamingo and the Johnson Key site is 6.25 miles south of Flamingo.
Camping is limited to one night and two parties with six or fewer people in each.
Required backcountry permits are available at Flamingo Visitor Center or the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City no more than one day in advance of a trip’s departure. The basic permit fee is $10, plus $2 per person per night.
For more information, go to http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/camping.htm.
This 13-minute video — which can take a while to load, so be patient — is the work of the South Florida National Parks Trust, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It explains the background that led to creation of the natural area, which is hoped to allow fish populations to rebound and to provide a sanctuary if you will for coral reefs, which face threats from anchor damage, degraded water quality, and warming oceans.
Federal authorities arrested two Lower Keys commercial lobster divers Friday on charges of illegally harvesting more than 1,000 pounds of lobster worth at least $17,000.
John Buckheim and Nick Demauro, of 79 Palm Drive in the Saddlebunch Keys, were arrested by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement agents. The pair are accused of sinking a boat to create an artificial habitat, known as a casita, south of Sammy’s Creek Bridge on Sugarloaf Key on Oct. 29, 2008, according to a federal indictment.
Prosecutors allege the poaching began in 2008 and continued into this year, reports say.
Both men are scheduled to appear in a Miami courthouse today.
The arrest comes a week before the start of the commercial lobster season.
Contact: Lee Schlesinger, 850-487-0554
