Within weeks of implementation of Florida’s new felony netting law, nine suspected poachers face major fines and possible jail time. Implemented on July 1, the increase in flagrant illegal netting penalties from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony is yet another step in the attempt to stop ongoing violations of the state’s constitutional net ban.
Net poachers were caught red-handed with an assorted illegal catch that included 17 undersized snook.
In the first case sited, three individuals face both misdemeanor and third-degree felony charges for using a 4,587-square-foot monofilament gill net to catch mullet along the Big Bend Coast. Under the new law it’s a felony to use a monofilament gill net or any net exceeding 2,000 square feet.
The second case involves four men on Florida’s East Coast and the illegal harvest of 17 undersize snook along with a number of other species. The August 12 arrests took place after the men were observed using a gill net and loading a cooler with the illegally caught fish.
Less than a week later, two Panhandle netters were spotted around midnight using a large trammel net, which is composed of multiple layers of monofilament. The netters attempted to flee while dumping their net overboard, but were eventually caught with 1,000 pounds of mullet on board.
All nine men face a maximum criminal fine of $5,000 and five years in jail, as well as a $5,000 civil penalty and a one-year suspension of all saltwater licenses.
