Filed at July 28, 2010 under by Keys
By KEVIN WADLOW
kwadlow@keynoter.com
A Tampa man was charged Sunday with trying to get a three-day head start on lobster season in the Lower Keys. Leon A. Shabott, 46, faces misdemeanor conservation counts for taking 39 out-of-season lobster after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers found him scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico, north of Cudjoe Key.
According to the FWC, Shabott was diving off a private boat between the Content Keys and Sawyer Keys around 2:30 p.m. As a patrol boat approached, the operator of the private boat reportedly gunned the engines — which FWC operators interpreted as a warning to the diver.
Officer Jimmy Johnson reported that the diver tried to swim away from the area underwater but was easily tracked by his bubbles. Shabott surfaced and was taken into custody. FWC Officer Seth Wingard donned snorkel gear to search the area, and recovered a bag containing 39 wrong lobster tails. Three of the tails were undersized.
Shabott was booked on singular counts of taking 39 out-of-season lobster, possession of wrung tails on the water, possession of three undersized lobster, and exceeding the recreational bag limit.
FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said divers at Indian Key Fill in Islamorada were charged with taking lobster out of season last weekend, after being observed by an officer in plain clothes. The suspects, from the Miami area, had only a few lobster and were cooperative, Dube said.
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Filed at July 11, 2010 under by Keys
KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Melted butter is optional, but a taste for crustaceans is essential at the 14th annual Key West Lobsterfest scheduled Friday through Sunday, Aug. 6-8. The festival commemorates the start of the Florida Keys lobster season with events that include an open-air lobster feast on Key West’s famed Duval Street.
Florida lobsters, sometimes called spiny lobsters, are known for their sweet, tender meat. Unlike their northern cousins, the spiny specimens have no claws.
Purists savor them steamed, with each bite dipped in melted butter. They also can be baked and stuffed, served cold in salads or incorporated into dishes ranging from bisques to fritters to omelets.
The festival’s enticing “entrée” is the Key West Lobsterfest Street Fair, set for noon through 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, in the 100 through 500 blocks of Duval.
Lobster lovers can sample dishes ranging from tempting appetizers to traditional lobster dinners with all the trimmings. Chefs from as many as 20 local restaurants are to prepare specialties featuring fresh crustaceans caught by Florida Keys lobster fishermen.
Attendees also can browse and buy art, crafts and merchandise from on-site vendors.
A free outdoor concert is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and continue through 10:30 p.m. from a stage at the intersection of Duval and Greene streets. The talent lineup includes top local and regional acts Alphonse, Bubba System, Cool Breeze and Techno Dread.
Other Lobsterfest events include a kick-off party Friday, Aug. 6, at Rick’s/Durty Harry’s Entertainment Complex, 202 Duval St., a Friday night Duval Crawl and a mouthwatering lobster brunch Sunday, Aug. 8.
The crustacean celebration benefits a scholarship fund for Key West High School students.
For more information, visit www.keywestlobsterfest.com or e-mail info@ricksanddurtyharrys.com. For accommodations information in Key West, call the Key West Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-LAST-KEY (800-527-8539) or visit the Keys website at www.fla-keys.com.
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Filed at June 24, 2010 under by Keys
CITIZEN STAFF
http://keysnews.com/
Wildlife officers chased two suspected lobster poachers Saturday as they reportedly attempted to out-swim a state boat near Ohio Key, just east of Bahia Honda State Park.
One of the men swam to Sunshine Key Camping Resort in the hope of outrunning Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, but was captured after a foot chase through the campground, agency spokesman Bobby Dube said.
Ivan Rodriguez, 46, and Nelson Amaro-Montesino, 27, both of Miami, were charged with taking lobster out of season, snorkeling with no dive flag, interfering with an officer and resisting arrest — all misdemeanors.
Officers found 31 lobsters in a dive bag and spearfishing equipment in the water after their arrest, Dube said. Of the 31 lobster, about a third were undersized and had been speared, he said.
The agency received a call around 7 p.m., reporting that two men were in the water just outside the Ohio Key Channel without a dive flag, Dube said. He did not know whether the call came from a boater or someone driving over the bridge. Two officers responded and watched the men from a distance before stopping them, Dube said.
“They tried to swim to shore and wouldn’t get in our boat,” Dube said.
As officers followed the men, Amaro-Montesino tired and eventually boarded the agency’s vessel, Dube said. Rodriguez made it to shore before officers corralled him in the campground, Dube said.
The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, and more charges could be pending, Dube said.
Back in the channel, officers found a milk jug with a spear gun tied to it and a bag containing lobster.
Both men were taken to jail in Marathon and county Judge Tegan Slaton set their bond at $74,000.
The lobster “mini season” runs July 28 and 29. Regular season begins on Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. It is illegal to spearfish for lobster any time, anywhere in Florida.
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Filed at June 15, 2010 under by Keys
By GARY PHILLIPS
KeysNews.com
Saturday, June 12, 201
Nearly nine months to the day after being accused of molesting a commercial lobster trap, two Key Largo men were convicted on third-degree felony charges.
Ruben Barbuscio, 62, and Daniel Peralta, 53, were led in handcuffs from a Plantation Key courtroom after Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia found them guilty on Thursday. The pair waived their right to a jury trial and opted to have their case heard by Garcia.
Their crime occurred on Sept. 11, when commercial fisherman Abilio Gil and his stepson, Yardiel Penton, videotaped Barbuscio and Peralta pulling a lobster trap belonging to commercial fisherman Dana Pettit onto Barbuscio’s boat between Rodriguez Key and Tavernier Creek.
In announcing his ruling, Garcia said the poor-quality video was of little value as evidence, but it did contain Gil’s spoken description of the defendants’ action. Gil was watching through binoculars while Penton operated the camcorder. Garcia said the eyewitness account was credible and weighed heavily in his decision.
Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne also provided photos of the trap, buoy and rope, and had the trap brought into the courtroom. She said the photos taken the day of the incident clearly show the rope and trap had been recently handled, as silt and marine growth on the items had been disturbed.
A sentencing hearing is set for June 29.
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Filed at June 12, 2010 under by Keys
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
It took a jury four hours Friday to find Harry Bethel Jr. and his two mates guilty of pulling another fisherman’s lobster traps three years ago.
Bethel Jr., 48, and co-defendants Shamus Davis, 32, and Lawrence Pinder, 54, were found guilty of one count of trap molestation, a third-degree felony with a maximum punishment of five years in prison. Each is scheduled to be sentenced before circuit Judge David Audlin on June 28.
Audlin granted Assistant State Attorney Val Winter’s request that fishing licenses for each man be revoked pending sentencing. Each could have their licenses permanently revoked at that time, Winter said. None of the defendants was taken into custody, as Audlin did not find them to be a threat to the community, Winter said. Each initially was charged with two counts of trap molestation. Jurors found them guilty of pulling only one of the two traps the state argued they molested while fishing aboard Bethel Jr.’s crawfish vessel, the Kayla Renee II, near Sugarloaf Key in 2007.
“They found them guilty on the trap that [a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)] pilot had under constant surveillance,” Winter said. Two FWC officers responded to the Kayla Renee II under the direction of FWC pilot Lt. John Murphy, according to court testimony. Much of the state’s case centered on Murphy’s testimony of what he saw while on patrol about 2,000 to 3,000 feet in the air.
Defense attorney Manny Garcia, who is representing Bethel, and Assistant Public Defender Christopher Bridger, assigned to the other two defendants, hammered away in their closing arguments Friday at what Murphy was able to see from that height. It was the second trial in the case, as prosecutors failed to convince a jury in January that the fishermen had molested any traps. Audlin declared a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the first trial.
In an unrelated arson case, Bethel Jr. has not accepted a plea agreement offered by prosecutors. Winter declined to comment on the specifics of the offer until it has been legally accepted or rejected in court and made public. That charge carries a maximum of 35 years in prison and $5,000 in fines if Bethel is found guilty. Prosecutors allege he set fire to a thatched-roof tiki hut at the home of his cousin and business partner, with whom he was arguing, in September 2007.
Bethel is the son of former Key West City Commissioner Harry Bethel Sr. and current Key West Bight Board chairman.
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Filed at June 3, 2010 under by Keys
By KEVIN WADLOW
http://www.keysnet.com
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Fifteen lobster tails were seized as evidence Monday when state wildlife officers arrested a St. Augustine man spearfishing near Grassy Key. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers charged Bruce L. Beall, 39, with 19 misdemeanor counts of conservation violations.
FWC officers checked Beall when they saw him spearfishing in Gulf of Mexico waters north of Grass Key, FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said. It’s illegal to spear lobster, and to separate tails from the lobster body on the water. All the tails were undersized and taken in a closed season, Dube said.
If the lobster had been egg-bearing, “he’d have had the whole set” of possible crawfish violations, Dube noted. The incident was the most serious conservation violation reported from the Memorial Day weekend in the Keys, the officer said.
Lobster season is closed from April 1 to the sport-diving days the last Wednesday and Thursday in July.
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Filed at May 29, 2010 under by Keys
The Pigeon Key Foundation offers marine science-based summer camps July 12 to 16 and Aug. 2 to 6 from the private island beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge, between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
Campers will explore marine habitats, learn to identify reef fish, study shark anatomy, dissection and much more.
There also will be guided snorkeling trips on the foundation's 40-foot catamaran and a competitive underwater obstacle course. Campers 10 years old and up can become certified divers through the program, as well.
For more information, call 203-500-7113 or go to http://www.Pigeonkey.net and click the events and forms link.
via Mile Markers | KeysNews.com.
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Filed at under by Keys
Gov. Charlie Crist is offering two free fishing weekends to help draw visitors to the states beaches. Both residents and tourists can fish for saltwater species around the state without a license from today to Monday, and on June 5 and 6.
All other fishing rules apply. Bookings have declined since the Gulf oil spill started on April 20, though oil has not directly impacted the state so far. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is monitoring the situation and potential impacts to the states fish and wildlife, said Chairman Rodney Baretto. Fishing organizations are concerned about inaccurate perceptions and want to get the message out that the industry is open for business. Go to http://www.MyFWC.com/Fishing to learn more.
via Mile Markers | KeysNews.com.
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Filed at May 10, 2010 under by Keys
Bicyclists and kayakers are invited to the Long Key Bike-Kayak Ride and Paddle.
The free, family-friendly event, which participants can cater to their individual abilities, will be on June 5, launching at 10 a.m. from Long Key State Park at Mile Marker 67.5 oceanside.
A roundtrip bike ride through the park and over the historic Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail bridge, which at 2.3 miles is the second longest in the Keys, will be followed by a roundtrip paddle to Long Key Point.
Park entrance fees will be waived.
Contact Monica Woll at monica.woll@dep.state.fl.us or 305-360-0846, or Cristina Lindley at cristina.lindley@dep.state.fl.us or 305-360-2532 for information.
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Filed at April 18, 2010 under by Keys
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 
Esteemed Guides and Anglers, we need your help! This will be our third consecutive year of conducting a Spring Bonefish Population Census to calibrate with results from the Fall Florida Keys Bonefish Population Census, now in its 8 th year. The 2010 Spring census event is planned for Wednesday, April 21, 2010.
Bonefishing is a multimillion dollar industry in the Florida Keys and virtually all of the fish are released unharmed to fight again. The bonefish census, coordinated by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) and the University of Miami RSMAS , helps to determine population trends of one of the Keys most important sport fish. This is the first and only population estimate ever done on bonefish anywhere in the world. The census information is vital to evaluating year-to-year changes in the bonefish population and providing guidance that ensures a sustainable fishery!!!
Fall census results have indicated a population of just over 320,000 bonefish in the Florida Keys fishery. We want to use the Spring census to calibrate our Fall estimates and to determine if there is a seasonal component to the bonefish population size estimates. Of particular note, your participation in this year’s census is critically important because we are trying to get a handle on the extent to which January’s extremely cold weather has impacted the Florida Keys bonefish population.
Our ability to detect population size differences from year to year depends on the number of census participants. The more participants we have the more robust our population size estimate. Please volunteer to help us as we need greater coverage of the fishery running from Key Biscayne to the Marquesas. All the information collected during the census will remain strictly confidential and be used only for scientific research purposes.
If you are able to participate please contact Dr. Jerry Ault at jault@rsmas.miami.edu or 305-421-4884. Once we have heard from you we will mail you a census package with a datasheet. Your responsibilities are minimal, all we ask is that you record: the zone(s) you fished; the distance poled; and, the number of bonefish seen. Simple, but very important! Finally, census datasheets will also be available from Florida Keys Outfitters (305-664-5423) or can be downloaded at www.bonefishresearch.com
We are counting on you to help us determine the current population size of this very important sports fish.
Dr. Jerry Ault
jault@rsmas.miami.edu
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