Tour boat captains see recent citations made for sea life poaching as a win.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report July 19 detailed bag limit citations issued between January and June in the waters surrounding Anna Maria Island. While the FWC wrote no bag limit citations for shellfish in the waters of Anna Maria Sound or Sarasota Bay, the agency wrote five citations for bag limit violations just outside those waterways, according to the FWC.
A May 24 incident involved two citations for the taking of 29 undersized, out-of-season stone crabs near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay and, in a May 8 incident also near the Skyway, the FWC cited three individuals for possession of 326 marine organisms, which, according to the citation, is 286 over the bag limit.
“I feel like we’re winning as far as getting the word out,” Capt. Joey Sweet told The Islander July 24. Sweet believes the more aggressive enforcement will result in poachers avoiding the area.
Sweet of Sweet Sunsets and Dolphin Tours of Anna Maria, along with Capt. Katie Tupin of Captain Katie Scarlett Boat Tours in Cortez, Bruce Adamo of Passage Key Dolphin Tours in Anna Maria and Matt and Beth Wright of Island Time Boat Tours in Holmes Beach have been at the forefront of a campaign to protect sea life from illegal poaching since 2022.
They banded together, forming the Habitat Guardian Group, to report a surge in poaching incidents targeting edible shellfish such as whelks, clams, pen shells, sea urchins, and other bottom-dwelling marine life within Sarasota Bay.
Their efforts were prompted in 2022 by the discovery of a mound of empty fighting conch shells on a sandbar in Sarasota Bay. The discovery was a catalyst for heightened awareness among tour operators.
Over the past two years, the captains have documented evidence of sea life poaching in the waters of Sarasota Bay and reported their findings to the FWC. Their efforts brought attention to widespread poaching and resulted in multiple citations by the FWC.
Sweet said the FWC, in addition to being on the water, has had a greater presence at boat ramps.
“I have seen trucks. I see one maybe once a week, but I haven’t seen them on the water since the last holiday, July 4,” Sweet said.
He added that HGG captains have been working long hours this summer and, with every charter, they are watching for signs of poachers.
“I am trying to make sure every time we see someone (poaching), we can be right on top of it and making sure the word gets passed among us,” Sweet said.
Sweet said the lower number of poaching events in local waters was evidenced by a slow return of benthic sea life, which had become hard to find.
“Today we had people who were able to find some live banded tulip shells, sea urchins and Florida fighting conch,” he said.
“The more organized that we become and the more widespread our efforts, the more effective we become,” Sweet added. “It shows a lot of proactive concern on the part of FWC, even though they are spread thin. I think it shows they are trying to do their job and shut that stuff down.”
Tupin said poaching traffic has slowed in Sarasota Bay but vigilance is needed.
“We would normally see a lot more activity at this time of year,” Tupin said, referring to poachers.
“They are normally out and about on the new and full moon, and we’ve barely seen anything out here,” she added. “I’ve seen more of the fighting conchs, some lightning whelks and a few horse conchs.”
More information
For more information on the Habitat Guardian Group, call 941-661-3681.
To report a possible bag limit violation, call the FWC’s wildlife hotline at 888-404-FWCC.