He was hiding 5 lobster tails in pants and a snapper in shirt, police in the Keys say
.jpg "A Key West man was arrested on 14 fisheries counts after Florida fish and wildlife police said he had five wrung lobster tails hidden in his pants, as well as several mangrove snappers.")
Florida fish and wildlife police arrested a man they said they caught with five undersized wrung spiny lobster tails hidden in his pants.
The man, who police identified as 34-year-old Yasmany Valdes Puebla, was swimming Wednesday on the south side of the Boca Chica Bridge in the Lower Keys, when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission police saw in the water with a lobster in his hand, the agency said.
Officers on a boat asked th4e Key West man to swim to them. As he did, the officers saw him release a mangrove snapper from a T-shirt he was holding, said Arielle Callender, a fish and wildlife police spokesperson.
One of the officers jumped in the water and retrieved the fish, which was speared. When Puebla boarded the police boat, officer found the wrung tails. By state law, all spiny lobsters must be brought to shore whole.
The officers found the man in possession of a total of seven lobsters, which is one over the legal bag limit, and 12 mangrove snapper, which is seven over the legal limit, Callender said.
Puebla, who could not be reached for comment, was booked into Monroe County jail on a total of 14 misdemeanor fisheries counts, was released the next day with an order to appear before a judge, according to sheriff’s office online records.
