(WSVN) - Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies have cited two men for harvesting lobsters by illegal means in the Florida Keys.
According to deputies, Middle Keys Marine Deputy Wille Guerra spotted 35-year-old Eliecer Martinez of Sunrise diving without a dive flag around noon, Sunday, with a 13-year-old boy present. He found several wrung lobster tails in Martinez’s pockets and more lobsters hidden in the mangroves.
Martinez was found to be in possession of 36 undersized, wrung lobster tails, as well as possessing a homemade spear used to harvest small lobsters. He was cited for harvesting lobster without a measuring device, possession of undersized lobster, possession of over-the-limit lobster, possession of speared lobster and possession of wrung lobster tails in the water.
Martinez didn’t have a fishing license nor lobster endorsement.
The 13-year-old boy that accompanied Martinez has not been cited, as he wasn’t seen harvesting nor possessing lobster.
Afterward, Guerra spotted 30-year-old Rene Perez of Miami at the south end of Bahia Honda Bridge at around 5 p.m., also diving without a dive flag and dropping several lobsters from his waist line.
When the deputy saw that Perez had a speargun, he approached him and the man said he didn’t know that lobsters couldn’t be speared.
Perez was found with three undersized lobsters and was cited for possession of undersized lobster, possession of wrung lobster tails in the water, possession of speared lobster and having no measuring device while in the water.
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