A Miami man reeled in a lobster at Tavernier Creek, leading to a Wednesday case filed by the FWC. Robert R. Harden, 21, was booked on three conservation counts. FWC Officer Chris Mattson was on road patrol at Tavernier Creek at mile marker 91 when he “observed a man fishing in an unorthodox method,” Dube said. “He wasn’t casting his line, just whipping his fishing pole in a rapid manner a few feet below the surface.” A check of Harden’s cooler revealed “an out-of-season spiny lobster with a fish hook still in the lobster,” Dube said. Two undersized mangrove snapper also were found. Harden was charged with taking lobster by illegal means, lobstering in a closed season and having undersize snapper. A computer check showed Harden’s license is suspended for failure to pay traffic fines and that his car lacked a valid license tag and mandatory insurance.
Source: 63 illegal lobster = 156 criminal charges | Crime | KeysNet