Commercial fishing vessel caught with $30,000 of illegal shrimp in Tampa Bay, FWC says
State wildlife officials seized $30,000 worth of shrimp from a commercial fishing vessel in Tampa Bay earlier this month.
Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boarded the ship on March 3 as part of a resource inspection, according to a press release. More than 11,000 pounds of shrimp, along with several pounds of cobia fillets were discovered in the vessel’s freezer, FWC said.
Florida law limits commercial vessels to 5 gallons of shrimp per trip. A special license is also required to harvest shrimp in Tampa Bay.
The ship, called Dona Lupa, was operating illegally just south of MacDill Air Force Base, officials say. The ship’s crew was based out of Port Isabel, Texas.
“Our officers remain committed to stopping these illegal commercial shrimping trips. Florida’s resources must be protected from illegal harvest, and our specially trained officers are dedicated to ensuring that these illegal commercial vessel operators are cited accordingly,” said Maj. Rob Rowe, FWC’s Southwest Regional Commander.
FWC officers cited the vessel’s captain for not having a restricted species endorsement on their Saltwater Products License, failure to display Saltwater Products License on the vessel, possession of cobia not in whole condition and turtle-excluder device violations, according to the FWC release.
