What’s the catch of the day? Illegal yellowtail and grouper off Key West, police say
Two days after catching a fishing party taking more than 100 yellowtail from the federally protected waters of the Dry Tortugas, Florida wildlife police said they caught two more boaters doing the same thing.
Catching people fishing in the no take zones isn’t uncommon, said Officer Robert Dube, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. But FWC has taken notice of three cases within as many days.
“I would not say rare by any means,” Dube said Monday, of such illegal fishing. “But they’re going out there and don’t expect us to be out there during these times.”
Monroe County residents may go boating as long as they stay 50 feet apart from other boats, Dube said, but the Florida Keys are closed to visitors by emergency order.
On April 10, Fish and Wildlife officers said they spotted a sport fishing boat with its operator aboard. Joseph Daniel Hibbeln, 57, of Tierra Verde, was fishing inside the no take-zone of the Tortugas North Ecological Reserve, part of the gulf state waters of Monroe County.
The vessel is a 62-foot Bayliss Southpaw.
Hibbeln had 18 fish onboard and admitted he had caught them all in closed areas on April 9 and 10, FWC said.
Hibbeln had five yellowtail snapper, four mangrove snapper, three red grouper and one margate.
Police say Hibbeln also admitted to anchoring inside the area, which is prohibited. He was given a notice to appear for fishing inside Tortugas North Ecological Reserve and three counts of possession of grouper during the closed season.
He will receive a federal notice of violation for anchoring in the protected area and entering without valid access.
While FWC officers were finishing up citing Hibberln, they saw people fishing on Tortugas Bank, which is south of the Tortugas North Ecological Reserve, from a center console boat.
Officers said they approached and the boat’s operator tried to hide the fishermen who were tossing fish off the stern of the 31-foot 2004 Jupiter with two 250-horsepower outboard motors.
“The officers recovered one red grouper from the water which was in the vessel’s prop wash,” Dube said. “This fish was dead and still cold to the touch, indicating it had recently been inside of a cooler.”
The operator/owner was David Michael Bollen II, 46, of Bokeelia, and the occupants were Stephen Joseph Luisi IV, 31, and Joseph Carl Dubeck, 50, both of Jupiter.
There were seven red grouper on the boat, including the one found in the water, FWC said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, FWC said the three were issued notices to appear for criminal violations of tampering with evidence and seven counts of possession of out-of-season grouper.
Each was charged with one felony and seven misdemeanors.
FWC said it will consult the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office on possibly filing additional charges in both cases because the Florida Keys are closed to visitors by an emergency order.
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