Sheriff warns Monroe County boaters as marine thefts rise again

Fishing gear, electronics, lower units and engines were back in the spotlight as Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay’s office warned boat owners that marine thefts were picking up again. The agency said it had recently received multiple reports of vessel-related thefts, with fishing gear left in boats drawing particular attention.

“This is the time of year thieves often target boats. Don’t be an easy target this summer,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a new release. Deputies urged owners to lock down valuables, use lighting and motion sensors, and be deliberate about what is left in a vessel overnight or when it is unattended at a dock, marina or private property.

The warning carried extra weight in Monroe County, where boating is woven into work, recreation and the island economy. The Sheriff’s Office serves the Florida Keys, a 125-mile chain linked by 42 bridges, and county tourism figures show why marine crime lands hard here. Visitors spend about $3.5 billion a year in the Keys, generating nearly $400 million in tax revenue and supporting more than 24,000 local jobs. NOAA has said recreation-tourism accounts for a large share of the local economy, so thefts that hit boats and gear can ripple far beyond one owner.

That is why the sheriff’s message focused on prevention rather than waiting for a case to grow. Replacing marine electronics, engines or lower units is expensive, and stolen fishing equipment can wipe out a weekend trip or a charter outing before it starts. In a county built around the water, even small thefts can become a broad public-safety and property-protection problem.

Monroe County has seen the scale of marine theft before. In 2023, the Sheriff’s Office helped announce arrests in a multi-county marine GPS theft ring that investigators said began in May 2023 and spread through the Keys and South Florida. News reports on that case described hundreds of victims and millions of dollars in stolen property.

The latest warning suggests the same lesson still applies around the docks and marinas from Key West north through the island chain: leave less exposed, secure more, and make boats harder to hit.