FLORIDA – A commercial fisherman in Florida was likely a bit crabby last week after officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tracked him down and charged him with several violations associated with more than 500 alleged unlawful crab traps.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), its officers found 54 closed-season crab traps while on patrol in Hernando County, leading them to obtain a search warrant which provided the owner’s location via GPS.
Using GPS, the FWC said its officers were led to an additional 450 traps.
The FWC said the alleged owner of the traps, a commercial fisherman, illegally worked the traps at night.
According to the FWC, none of the traps were marked with a required buoy, some had expired tags, and most of them did not have the biodegradable panel.
Charges were filed against the alleged owner for the out-of-season traps and other violations, the FWC said in a statement.
