No arrests or major wildlife cases were reported by law enforcement agencies during a two-day lobster mini-season in the Florida Keys.
A few incidents on the water, however, kept first responders busy during the sport season.
Beginning a minute past midnight on July 24 and concluding at midnight on July 25, locals and visitors were able to grab their bag limits — six lobsters per person, per day in Monroe County. Sheriff’s deputies, state wildlife officers and U.S. Coast Guard crews were among the agencies patrolling the waters up and down the island chain to ensure bug catchers measured their catches correctly and abided by other state and local regulations.
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation reported no major resource cases. In the Lower Keys, state wildlife officers were called to Boca Chica Bridge after a 20-year-old snorkeler from Seminole was struck by a boat a little past 8 a.m. on July 24. According to FWC, a 19-foot Stratos operated by Mark Johnson, of Key West, was passing under the bridge when it struck Sean Steven Bender. He was airlifted to a Miami hospital with severe injuries to his arm.
“This is an active investigation,” said FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender.
More than 500 vessel stops by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office yielded no arrests during the two days. Deputies issued 12 mandatory court citations for those who possessed undersized lobsters. In the Lower Keys, deputies rescued four people from a sinking vessel on the oceanside near MM 39 on July 24. Deputies responded to the scene around 11:30 a.m. to find a boat taking on water. The four people, who weren’t identified, were successfully retrieved from the sinking vessel.
Lobsters weren’t the only catch during the two-day lobster mini-season. On July 24, a diver searching for lobster found a package of cocaine roughly a mile offshore of Tavenier. The package was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
