Commercial anglers accused of raiding fellow fisherman’s lobster traps in the Keys
Three commercial fishermen were arrested this week after being accused of raiding another commercial angler’s traps and stealing at least one spiny lobster.
Their arrest Tuesday came five days after plainclothes Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers said they observed them from land checking the other boat’s traps off Long Key and taking one lobster.
Aniel Sanfiel Vallalonga De La Fe, 51, from Miami, Ricardo Daiz De La Cruz, 32, from Boca Raton, and Yumar Gonzalez Ruiz, 49, from Homestead, each face two counts each of felony trap tampering and one count each of theft of the contents of another harvester’s traps — a second-degree misdemeanor.
The men, who could not be reached for comment, were released from Monroe County jail Wednesday on a bond of $50,000 each. They work on a boat based out of Conch Key Marina and Fisheries in the Middle Keys
Fish and Wildlife Inspector Adam Garrison and Officer Specialist Jeremy Foell wrote in their probable cause affidavit that they watched the men drive their vessel up to trap marker buoys belonging to the other boat, lift the traps out of the water, inspect them, and remove at least one lobster.
The traps belong to a vessel that is docked at the same marina.
“The disrespect these men showed to another commercial fisherman is astounding to me. 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,” FWC South Bravo Regional Commander Maj. Alberto Maza said in a statement. “Every day they go out, they pass the boat of the fisherman they stole from.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 5:32 AM.
