April 5, 2016 — MIAMI — Two South Florida men have been sentenced for illegally poaching spiny lobsters in Miami-Dade County.
On Tuesday, 54-year-old Donny Caridad Gonzalez and 77-year-old Nemesio Garcia Gonzalez appeared in court to be sentenced for the crime that occurred on May 9, 2015.
According to officials, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers observed a suspicious lobster shell inside a crab trap, even though the boat owner claimed no lobsters were on the boat. As officials investigated the boat, an officer found a total of 87 wrung lobster tails, 66 of which were undersized.
The lobsters were illegally collected outside of regular lobster season, which is Aug. 6 through March 31.