Gotcha - Florida fisherman convicted of shark fin sales

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A local fisherman has been convicted of 13 counts of selling shark fins, shark meat and king mackerel without the proper license, according to a news release from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Harold Hix, 56, of Panama City Beach, sold 56 shark fins, shark meat and king mackerel to FWC investigators on Sept. 8, Oct. 1 and Oct. 9, according to a news release from FWC. He routinely fished from the Panama City Beach City Pier and the Bay County Pier, where he caught several species of large, coastal sharks, including hammerhead, blacktip, tiger, nurse and bull. He then sold the fins and meat.

Florida law prohibits recreational anglers from selling full or partial sharks without the proper license. Those with a license can only sell some species during the appropriate seasons.

“This is part of our ongoing effort to curb unlawful sales of saltwater products by unlicensed people and unlawful sale of protected marine species,” Capt. Bruce Cooper, leader of FWC investigations in Northwest Florida.

Editors Note: Total fine? $650. Not sure if this fine is a deterrent or not given the market value of shark fin. Additionally not mentioned anywhere in the mainstream media are the commercial sources Mr. Hix sold his shark fin to. It would be interesting to following the supply chain back to his primary customer base in the region and see if there are others making a living from the fining of sharks in Florida's waters.

Complete Story.

Sharks Finned in Florida - Images

Tarpoon Dive Centers posted grizzly images of finned sharks in Florida's waters this week.

These images were picked up by Scotty Grey from Blue Iguana Charters and a host of shark conservation groups.

Scotty's response to these images was typical of those who have seen them.

We contacted Jake Shekels manager of Tarpoon Dive Centers and he said this was not the first time he had encountered finned sharks at his dive site:

"These Photos were taken last weekend while diving on a reef off Key Biscayne. Unbelievable this is happening so close to home. In April of last year we saw two hammerheads and perhaps a tiger shark, this was a nurse shark around the same area and depth and I am beginning to wondering if this is a coincidence?"

Typically shark finning is done by one or two persons who run small to medium shark fin operations in Florida. Some are busted, some are not. These are lucrative operations (see link).

With conservation leadership from Tarpoon Dive Centers and help from others in the conservation community perhaps these sharks will not have been finned in vain.

See post "When One Dead Shark."