They had 65 snapper and 2 barracuda on the boat, cops say — and that led to arrests

A Homestead man was found with 65 gray snapper on board his boat Monday night, which is 45 over the legal limit given there were four people on his vessel, according to police.

Heribel Cruz-Casanola, 44, was arrested on charges of possessing undersized gray snapper and possessing fish over the bag limit.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat stopped Cruz-Casanola's vessel at Gilbert's Resort and Marina at mile marker 108, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Noel Garcia arrived at 11 p.m.

On board Cruz-Casanola's boat was another adult man, Jorge Ariel Martinez Hernandez, 49, of Lutz, Florida, and two teenage boys. Inside a cooler on the boat were 65 gray, or mangrove snapper, and two barracuda, according to Garcia's report..

In state waters, the bag limit for gray snapper is five per person. Three of the snapper were under the size limit of 10 inches. One barracuda was under the size limit for that species of 15 inches.

Hernandez was arrested on two counts of possessing undersized fish.

This story was originally published July 10, 2018 at 10:30 AM.