Sheriff's deputies cite three Miami-Dade men for illegal fishing in Keys

A Sunday morning fishing stop at the Channel Two Bridge and Card Sound Bridge turned into court notices for three Miami-Dade men after Monroe County sheriff’s deputies say they found clear wildlife violations at two of the Keys’ most watched access points.

At about 7 a.m. near the Channel Two Bridge in Islamorada, Islamorada Marine Deputy Jason Farr approached Alexis Pinon Gonzalez, 57, and Omar Mendez Valdez, 58, both of Miami. Deputies said the men started tossing fish out of a cooler as soon as they saw enforcement, apparently trying to hide what they had. The effort did not work. Deputies said the cooler contained an undersized lane snapper and a lobster that had been taken out of season.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says lane snapper carry a minimum size limit and recreational bag limits, and Monroe County lobster rules prohibit taking lobster during closed periods and in protected areas. Statewide lobster rules also require lobster to be landed whole and measured in the water. The Channel Two fishing bridge is one of the better-known public access spots in the Upper Keys, which is exactly why deputies pay close attention there.

Later that morning, at about 11:48 a.m., Key Largo Deputy Tony Conde spotted 27-year-old Yolexis Nunez Arce of Homestead spearfishing under the Card Sound Bridge. Deputies said spearfishing is not allowed there, and that Arce was also in possession of a barracuda taken with a spear. FWC says spearfishing is prohibited within 100 yards of any bridge from which public fishing is allowed, and it is prohibited in Monroe County state waters from Long Key north to the Miami-Dade County line.

Barracuda rules in the South Florida counties covered by the state regulations set a 15- to 36-inch fork-length slot limit and a daily bag limit of two fish per person and six per vessel. But at Card Sound Bridge, the larger issue was location: the waterway sits inside a tightly enforced stretch where spearfishing is barred.

All three men received court notices rather than being taken immediately to jail, but the citations underline how much daily marine enforcement in Monroe County depends on simple rules that can change from one bridge to the next. For anglers and visitors, the takeaway is practical and immediate: know the species limits, know the season, and know the spot. On Keys bridges, an undersized fish, an out-of-season lobster or a speargun in the wrong place can turn a morning on the water into a court date.