Ken,

Please compliment your law enforcement officers for protecting the Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary. This area is critical for the well being of the Florida pink shrimp industry. It is a well known area that has been off limits to trawling for over three decades and must remain off limits. I

t is most disheartening for shrimpers who are working outside the boundary to see on their radar that other shrimpers are taking advantage of what they perceive as lack of law enforcement and sneak into the closed area under the cover or darkness to steal shrimp.

From my perspective, if a shrimp vessel is caught and convicted for stealing shrimp from the sanctuary, that shrimp vessel should not be allowed within 50 miles of the sanctuary in the future unless it has a working VMS (vessel monitoring system) in order to have their whereabouts monitored while they are in the South Florida area.

Times are tough for all domestic shrimpers. It is just unacceptable for any boat to steal shrimp from the closed Tortugas nursery. We need to stop these violations and we need to stop the fast run boats that leave Key West with big coolers and return with fresh shrimp that have been bartered for at sea. In most instances, the shrimp that are being used for trade do not belong to the captain and crew alone as the boat owner owns a portion of every shrimp. This will be a tough nut to crack.

Congratulations again for protecting our renewable marine resources.

Bob Jones

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FWC NEWS Release 09 19 02
SHRIMPER MUST PAY $19,815 FOR SANCTUARY VIOLATION

September 18, 2002
Contact: Jim Huffstodt (561) 625-5122
or Lt. Joe Scarpa (305) 289-2320

KEY WEST - An Alabama shrimp boat captain, found guilty by a jury on Aug. 12 for illegally fishing inside the Tortugas shrimp sanctuary, was recently sentenced to 60 days in jail and assessed a total of $19,815 in fines, forfeitures, court costs, bond and penalties.

Maj. Mike Long, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) law enforcement supervisor in Marathon, said the sentence was appropriate and would serve as a powerful deterrent. He said it was one of the heaviest fines ever levied for violating the Tortugas shrimp sanctuary.

Judge Susan Vernon sentenced Benjamin Sprinkle, 43, of Grand Bay, Ala. on Sept. 5 in Monroe County Courthouse, Key West, Long said. The accused was jailed and later released after posting $50,000 bail.  Sprinkle is appealing the decision.

"The judge gave him almost the maximum in terms of fines and jail time," Long said. "In my opinion, Judge Vernon showed that she was not about to tolerate anyone raiding the shrimp sanctuary. The message was strong and clear."

Long said the 1,500-square-mile Tortugas shrimp sanctuary is protected because of its importance as a nursery for young shrimp.

"The sanctuary guarantees that Florida's shrimp will continue to be a renewable resource and provide a rich commercial fishery for the future," he said. "People who don't respect the sanctuary put that fishery at risk."

Sprinkle is the captain of the "Miss Linda Darlene," a 65-foot shrimp boat out of Grand Bay, Ala.  Long said an FWC patrol craft spotted the "Darlene" on radar at a range of six miles around 9:30 p.m., Dec. 11.

The radar contact clearly showed the "Darlene" three miles inside the Tortugas shrimp sanctuary, and well within state waters, according to patrol boat skipper, Lt. Joe Scarpa.

Scarpa and Officer Sean Ramsey were aboard the 30-foot patrol craft as it skirted the sanctuary border, approximately eight miles north of the Marquesas, on routine patrol. Immediately after making the radar contact, Scarpa said they proceeded at high speed to investigate.

"Once we made visual contact, we saw that it was a shrimp boat with the port net out of the water and filled with shrimp and other marine products," Scarpa said. "The crew was in the process of hauling in the starboard net. The boat was the 'Miss Linda Darlene.'"

Shortly afterward, the "Darlene" came to an abrupt halt when its "sugar chain" (a chain that drags the bottom to stir up shrimp - also called a "tickler chain") snagged on a wreck or rock beneath the surface. Scarpa said he came alongside the shrimp boat and informed Sprinkle he was charged with illegally fishing inside the Tortugas shrimp sanctuary.

Scarpa escorted the "Darlene" to Key West dock. He said there were 1,289 pounds of shrimp aboard. The suspect was charged with a misdemeanor, wrote a $1,675 escrow check to cover the commercial value of the catch and posted a $3,500 bond for "nets and doors."

Doors are wooden attachments that hold shrimp nets open for shrimp.  The bond entitled the shrimper to keep his nets and doors after the arrest.  

Sprinkle was found guilty of violating the shrimp sanctuary and still faces possible suspension of his saltwater products license following administrative review by the FWC.

Judge Vernon sentenced Sprinkle on Sept. 5. The shrimp boat captain was given six months probation, 60 days in jail, assessed $250 in court costs, fined $500, forfeited the $3,500 bond for nets and doors, forfeited the $1,675 escrow check and was ordered to pay "enhanced penalities" of $10 per pound for his catch -- another $12,890. The total was $19,815.