Three commercial fishermen are facing charges after wildlife officers observed them pulling another fisherman’s traps and snatching at least one lobster not far from Long Key Bridge.
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were working in plain clothes on the east side of the bridge on Oct. 18 when they noticed a commercial fishing vessel on the oceanside roughly a quarter mile away. Per an arrest warrant, Investigator Adam Garrison recognized the vessel from an inspection he conducted the day before.
Garrison and FWC Officer Specialist Jeremy Foell say they observed the vessel approach a line of crawfish traps that did not display the same buoy colors that were on their vessel. As the vessel approached the trap, mates on board retrieved a buoy, which was white with a black stripe and a red spot on top, and the attached trap from the water. Garrison and Foell said they witnessed the boat captain leave the wheelhouse to inspect the trap. The mates released the trap and drove away. FWC officers noted that the buoy to the trap they pulled didn’t match their vessel’s buoy display of white over yellow.
FWC officers said they observed the vessel approach another buoy that was similar in color to the first trap they pulled. Officers say they again observed the captain, later identified as 51-year-old Aniel Sanfiel Villalonga De La Fe, of Miami, leave the wheelhouse to inspect the trap. A mate, later identified as 49-year-old Yumar Gonzale Ruiz, of Homestead, opened the top of the crawfish trap and another mate, later identified as 32-year-old Ricardo Diaz-De La Cruz, of Boca Raton, remove a lobster from the trap. Garrison caught the incident on video as the vessel drove away.
FWC Officer Alex Pieckenbrock met the vessel at a dock located at Conch Key Marina & Fisheries. Foell and Garrison arrived a short time later and began to inspect the vessel. Three different colored buoys were discovered on the boat. Foell pointed to the buoys and asked Villalonga De La Fe, “that’s it?” Villalonga De La Fe said “That’s it. No more.”
When asked about the vessel Ginger Babie, which was tied almost directly to his boat, Villalonga De La Fe said that he didn’t know who operated the vessel and never met the person. When asked what buoy color the Ginger Babie displays, Villalongo De La Fe said white with a red spot. Foell proceeded to point at the buoy display on the Ginger Babie and asked if that was white and red, to which Villalongo De La Fe said “yeah.”
Investigation by FWC officers found the traps pulled by the three men were owned by James Hanson, of the Ginger Babie. Hanson told FWC that the Ginger Babie was the only vessel allowed to pull his traps on Conch Key and that the captain of his vessel, Jorge Reguerio, was the only person authorized to pull the traps. Reguerio told FWC officers that he didn’t authorize anyone else to pull Hanson’s traps.
Villalongo De La Fe, Diaz-De La Cruz and Gonzale Ruiz were arrested on third-degree felony charges related to molestation of lobster traps. The men were also charged with two counts of trap molesting and a second-degree misdemeanor count for theft of another harvester’s trap contents.
“The disrespect these men showed to another commercial fisherman is astounding to me, said South Bravo Regional Commander Maj. Alberto Maza. “When our officers performed a follow up inspection on this vessel, they realized that the commercial vessel assigned to the traps they robbed was less than 100 feet away on the same dock. “Every day they go out, they pass the boat of the fisherman they stole from.”
Bond was set at $50,000 each for Villalongo De La Fe, Diaz-De La Cruz and Ruiz. The men were ordered to remain off the waters of Monroe County. They will appear in court for an arraignment hearing on Nov. 1 before Monroe County Judge James Morgan.
Jessica McCawley, Marine Fisheries Management Division director, said the commercial spiny lobster industry is an economic driver with many livelihoods depending on the industry’s management and compliance with regulations.
“I’m pleased to see our law enforcement officers working to ensure that law-abiding commercial fishermen are protected from those who would act illegally for advantage,” she said.
