Two out-of-state visitors face legal trouble after Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies caught them harvesting protected marine life in separate incidents on Sunday.
The first arrest occurred at Bahia Honda State Park just before noon. Lower Keys Marine Deputy Luis Guiardinu was on patrol at approximately 11:24 a.m. when he spotted a man, later identified as 68-year-old Raymond Kwongwah Wong of Toronto, Canada, harvesting lobster.
Upon inspection, Deputy Guiardinu found Wong in possession of five undersized lobsters. Further investigation revealed that Wong lacked both a saltwater fishing license and the required lobster permit. Authorities took Wong into custody and transported him to jail.
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Later that afternoon, law enforcement responded to a second wildlife violation at Sombrero Beach. At approximately 5:37 p.m., Middle Keys Sgt. Matthew O’Neill and Deputy Martin Corona-Rivera were alerted by bystanders that a man was harvesting queen conch.
The deputies identified the individual as Michael Paul Robistow, 52, of Willis, Texas. Robistow was found with four queen conch in his possession.
While the conch were all returned to the water alive, Robistow did not escape penalty. Deputies issued him a mandatory notice to appear in court for the illegal harvest.
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