A bevy of boats with bug catchers took to the Florida Keys waters for the two-day lobster mini-season last week. Overall, no major resource cases were reported by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Most people were in compliance and the number of vessel stops, notice-to-appear in court citations, and arrest figures were normal/typical compared to recent years. There were 526 resource checks, 16 court citations and no physical arrests by deputies who were out patrolling the waters and nearshore areas. These numbers do not include data from other law enforcement agencies, including Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Highway Patrol, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The sheriff’s office said there were three significant incidents reported during the two-day season. On July 30, an 82-year-old Palm City man died after he was found unresponsive while snorkeling in the gulf waters roughly 5 miles off MM 60. The sheriff’s office said Clarence Shawver was taken ashore at 10:45 a.m., and then to Fishermen’s Hospital in Marathon, where he was pronounced dead. Foul play is not believed to be a factor in the incident.
On July 31, 61-year-old Raymond Bruce Sasser, of Loxahatchee, died after he was snorkeling in waters near MM 74 in Islamorada. According to the sheriff’s office, Sasser lost consciousness at about 8:30 a.m. He was taken ashore and then to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he was pronounced dead. Foul play is not believed to be a factor in the incident.
The same day, a juvenile was injured by a boat propeller at about 11 a.m. in gulf waters some five miles off Mile Marker 48. The patient reportedly suffered a leg injury and was airlifted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. His condition as of Aug. 4 wasn’t known.
