The limit

[JABIII]

Has been exceeded.

The captain and owner of Legacy, Ronald Birren, told the officers he was gillnetting for Spanish mackerel. After following the 52-year-old Birren back to his Everglades City dock, officers found he had caught 2,711 pompano, placing him way over the limit, according to the report. The officers also said 76 of the fish were smaller than the legal size of 11 inches to the fork of the tail. On the way back to the dock, one of the officers stayed on board of the Legacy. When he entered the wheelhouse, he overheard Birren on his cellphone complaining to someone that he was set up.

Officer Jeremy Foel wrote in his report that Birren told the person on the other line: “Someone called on me.” He also said, according to the report, “They wouldn’t have ever even knew I was there if it wasn’t for that mother f---er calling. I was 18 miles off shore.” Birren could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Darren Horan, did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Despite being caught with so many over-the-limit and undersized fish, Birren was not arrested. Instead, he was cited for possession over the allowable gillnet bycatch for pompano outside the endorsement zone and possession of 76 undersized pompano. Each charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Birren was allowed to keep 100 of the pompano. The rest of the 2,611 fish were sold to the highest bidder, the Combs Fish Company out of Naples, for $6,882.05. The total catch weighed 3,932 pounds and Combs paid $1.75 a pound, according to the report.

Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward, who has made prosecuting fishery violations a hallmark of his administration — even seeking and getting jail time for charges like lobstering out of season — said he’s frustrated that he’s limited to the misdemeanor charges in cases like this. “I’d be asking for felonies for both of these charges, but the Legislature has to put more teeth in the laws,” Ward said. “This is nothing but greed. They are overfishing our resources.”

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...#storylink=cpy

[CUduckreeper]

Just a hair over the limit. Oh and "snitches get stiches".

[JABIII]

Oh and "snitches get immunity from prosecution".

fify, although someone crazy enough to run a gillnet off Big Pine is likely crazy enough to make you wish stitches would fix what he might do..

[CUduckreeper]

Yea, Florida rednecks are a whole different level of crazy.

[bitesize]

fify, although someone crazy enough to run a gillnet off Big Pine is likely crazy enough to make you wish stitches would fix what he might do..

Truer words have never been spoken!

[nitro5x6's]

June 12, 1980. Fishing at night off Looe Key ( general vicinity)

Just opened a Little King and had my feet up on the bow, when a Man with a Green Face surfaced and scared the ever loving piss out of me and my friend Phillip.

Guy raised his mask and said " lemme have a beer" We did. Pulled anchor and headed to the hill.

[wskinner]

Probably tracked him with their Fish and Wildlife App.

[flockbuster]

So he has to pay$1000 fine or is it $500 for each fish over the limit? The first doesn't seem much of a deterrent to stop him from doing it again. I would look at as a cost of doing business if I had to pay $1000 every now and then to catch 6500 worth of pompino