Three Lower Keys residents were arrested last Friday (September 18) after officials found more than 100 undersized lobsters and a haul of out-of-season stone crab claws, according to Fl Keys News on Monday (September 21).
Two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers were on water patrol Friday and saw a vessel called ESPY heading into shore near Stock Island.
Officers Scott Smith and Lt. Roy Payne followed the boat and did a dockside inspection at a fish house.
"They found two old undersized, wrung lobster tails in the vessel’s forward anchor compartment, said FWC spokesman Officer Bobby Dube. A more thorough check turned up 130 wrung lobster tails. Of those, 109 of the wrung tails were undersized," according to Fl Keys News.
The FWC officers also found 89 stone crab claws, of which 25 were undersized, according to the state agency.
Officials said the illegal catches were being hidden in a wet black bag inside the vessel's cabin.
Rigoberto Morales, 52, of Stock Island, was the captain of the ESPY vessel and was booked into the Stock Island Detention Center. His two crew members, Charles William Rahming, 27, of Key West, and Arlem Silva, 34, were also booked.
The three men are facing multiple charges, including felony charges, because of the number of lobsters found, according to Dube.
“Anything over 100 is a felony,” Dube said.
Fl Key News reported that Morales and Silver were released Saturday (September 19) without having to post bonds. As of Monday, Rahming is still in Monroe County jail on a $175,000 bond, according to jail records.
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