MONROE COUNTY
A local fisherman pleaded guilty to a federal Lacey Act violation of illegally harvesting and selling Ricordia florida, a type of coral, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The cost to remediate the damage caused by removing the coral from the seabed will exceed $78,000. At sentencing, the defendant will be ordered to forfeit his 1969, 34’ Morgan sailing vessel. Investigator David McDaniel, National Marine Fisheries Agent Kenneth Blackburn, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanographic Administration Legal Office, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case
A local fisherman pleaded guilty to a federal Lacey Act violation of illegally harvesting and selling Ricordia florida, a type of coral, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The cost to remediate the damage caused by removing the coral from the seabed will exceed $78,000. At sentencing, the defendant will be ordered to forfeit his 1969, 34’ Morgan sailing vessel. Investigator David McDaniel, National Marine Fisheries Agent Kenneth Blackburn, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanographic Administration Legal Office, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case