Seven men are facing charges after being caught illegally taking 320 spiny lobsters and possessing undersized lobster tails.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the men were taking lobsters out of season off the Florida Keys and illegally spearing them.
The men, who were pulled over in a rented boat on the oceanside of the Vaca Cut Bridge around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, also had four out-of-season stone crab claws and eight fish fillets on their boat, according to FWC officials.
On board were Leon Reeves, 48; Robinson Reeves, 19; and Jeffrey Honnell, 45; Jeffrey Barket, 44; David Gilmore, 55; Francis Bartkiewicz, 57; and Kyle Bartkiewicz, 23. All of the men are from Alabama, with the exception of Barket, who is from Georgia.
The equipment the men had was seized along with the lobster for court purposes. The fish, one identified as an out-of-season black grouper, is being sent off to a lab to be identified.
After being transported to the jail on Stock Island, each man received the same charges:
- Two felonies for having more than 100 undersized lobster
- 586 misdemeanor counts for out-of-season lobster and wrung tails
- 14 misdemeanor counts for the lobster, stone crab and reef fish “not in whole condition”
The driver of the boat, David Gilmore, was handed an additional misdemeanor for the black grouper.
The upcoming lobster mini-season in Florida is July 26-27 and the limit is six per person per day in the Keys.
Regular lobster season opens Aug. 6.