illegally harvesting coral

[Condiman]

(CBS4) VIRGINIA KEY The South Florida man arrested and charged with has illegally harvesting coral bonded out of jail.

Alaine Salermo was arrested Thursday after Florida Fish and Wildlife officials found 300 pounds of live coral on his small boat near Crandon Marina on Virginia Key. His boat was also confiscated.

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_018170845.html


willing to bet he was planning to sell it to the local fish stores. you see tons of ricordia, gorgonians, obviously native zoos, etc by the tons at fish stores. i talked with one guy who claims he saw an aquarium store owner poaching stuff right out of the water at john pennekamp coral reef state park. sickening.

its nice they actually enforced the poaching laws for once.
of course it may have to do with the fact miami seaquarium is right around the corner from there that he got busted. talk about flaunting your ability to poach.

[Choppa23]

wow what a fool. Unfortunately those guys never get bit by the sharks.

[Mantisfreak]

There were a couple of LFS owners from Kentucky who were recently arrested in Florida for illegally gathering rock, corals, etc.

[Doctor_Reef]

It is so unfortunate that these idiots rob our oceans this way....

[icereefer]

Yeah Idiot....No matter what theres people like that every where but Like you said Brad good to see there doing something about it.

[Imaexpat2]

Its not often poaching laws are enforced but its good to see them do a little PR enforcement every now and again to remind people that it happens all the time and what the consequences can be when you do get caught, but there in lies the problem....people rarely get caught doing this sort of thing. Hopefully he pays dearly for it!

[Mantisfreak]

I have a friend who works for NOAA and has all sorts of contacts with Florida Fish and Wildlife. I asked him about some posible illegal Ricordia florida and he said people who poach Ricordia are stupid because the penalty of getting caught is quite high. Then he also pointed out that it's a big ocean out there.

In essence, what he said was, "St. Louis is a big town and more people would speed if there were only 10 cops vs the thousands that really exist". Higher penalties won't necessarily stop speeding because people don't think they will get caught.

[Condiman]

I know it shocked me when I read about this.

[Imaexpat2]

The lure of easy money and a cold hard plan...its more than many can resist. Unfortunately ethics and respect are an endangered species in this day and age, few have enough of either.

[Crosis]

I hate reading about people who pull this crap... This is a case where a fine and boat confiscation just isn't enough...

[Mantisfreak]

Well, Alex might get off easier than I thought he would.

Southern District of Florida - Press Release (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/070323-02.html)

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Eddie McKissick, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, Commander Dave Score, Superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Major Jeff Ardelean, Regional Commander, Special Protection Area, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) announced that Alexandre Alvarenga-Freire, 40, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty yesterday in Miami federal District Court in connection with the illegal harvesting and sale in interstate and foreign commerce of Ricordia florida, an invertebrate corallimorph, in violation of the federal Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372 and 3373.

United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan accepted the guilty plea and set sentencing in this matter for June 1, 2007 at 9:00 am. Freire faces a possible sentence of five (5) years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, three (3) years’ of supervised release, and an order of restitution. Additionally, a 1969, 34' fiberglass hulled Morgan sailing vessel, “PIPPIN,” which was used in the commission of the offense will be forfeited to the United States.

The corallimorph involved in this matter, Ricordia florida, are prized by aquarists for their varied coloration and their ability to impart a “natural” look to tank displays. Both federal and Florida law closely regulate the harvesting and sale of such marine life. Pursuant to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration issued regulations in 1997 to govern activities within the sanctuary. Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 922 prohibits the removal of, injury to, or possession of coral or live rock and further prohibits moving, removing, taking, harvesting, damaging, disturbing, breaking, cutting, or otherwise injuring any living or dead coral or coral formation, or attempting any of these activities without a specific permit. Florida Administrative Code, Section 68B-42.008, prohibits the harvest of live rock and Florida Statue 370.07 requires that a person who sells salt water marine related wildlife such as Ricordia florida, to hold a State wholesale and retail license. Freire held none of the required permits or licenses to engage in these activities.

According to the Information filed in this matter, other court documents, and a statement of facts presented in Court, in November 2006 two German nationals were intercepted at Miami International Airport attempting to export 500 specimens of Ricordia florida, with live rock attached to the polyps, for sale through their business in Dusseldorf, Germany. They admitted to investigators that they had been involved with Freire in harvesting the marine life while aboard his vessel, the “PIPPIN”, east of Cudjoe Key in Monroe County. Their description made clear the activity had occurred in the Sanctuary.

Investigators placed a Global Positioning System tracking device on the boat and monitored its location through January 25, 2007 when Freire was arrested at Cudjoe Key Marina returning from the Sanctuary with a load of 400 specimens of Ricordia florida. The tracking device placed the harvesting location within the Sanctuary, confirming the information from the German nationals. Further confirmation was acquired by having a Immigration and Customs Enforcement aircraft conduct an overflight of the vessel during the three-day harvesting trip prior to Freire’s arrest.

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is a 2,800 square nautical mile area that surrounds the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. The FKNMS encompasses coastal and oceanic waters, and the submerged lands thereunder, surrounding the Florida Keys, and extending westward to include the Tortugas islands, but excluding Dry Tortugas National Park. The shoreward boundary of the Sanctuary is the mean high-water mark. Within these waters are spectacular, unique, and nationally significant marine environments, including seagrass meadows, mangrove islands, and extensive coral reefs. The FKNMS supports rich biological communities with extensive conservation, recreational, commercial, ecological, historical, research, educational, and aesthetic values of national significance. These environments also support high levels of biological diversity, which are fragile and easily susceptible to damage from human activities, but possess high value if properly conserved.

According to statements in Court, a team from NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program has evaluated the possibility of restoring the Ricordia seized from Freire at the time of his arrest to its natural habitat, in order to remediate some of the damage caused by his chiseling the polyps and live rock from the seabed. The cost associated with the effort is expected to exceed $78,000.

Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the NOAA Office For Enforcement, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program which brought the matter to a successful conclusion. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and certified Legal Intern Courtney R. Berman.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at Southern District of Florida - Homepage (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls). Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at Florida Southern District Court (http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov) or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.

[drumachine09]

wow what a fool. Unfortunately those guys never get bit by the sharks.

Aint that the truth.