Florida dive boat operators face charges of illegal shark feeding
News Release
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
20. March 2014
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Dive boat operators face charges of illegally feeding sharks in state waters
Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have filed charges against four men linked to the illegal feeding of sharks and fish within state waters.
The investigation started after the FWC received several complaints that shark feeding was taking place off the coast of Palm Beach County during dive charter trips. One complainant told dispatchers she was on a dive trip where sharks were being fed. The person said the sharks had become so aggressive she had to get out of the water.
“This is a public safety issue,” said FWC Maj. Camille Soverel. “The FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement wants to ensure these beautiful coastal waters remain safe for divers.”
FWC investigators and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), working jointly, conducted two separate investigations involving two northern Palm Beach County dive charter operators. On Feb. 8, deputies from the PBSO dive team took part in a dive trip on board Emerald Charters of Jupiter. During the dive, video was taken of Randall Jordan feeding sharks by hand while within state waters. He also used a milk crate filled with fish chunks to lure sharks to his location. Thomas Smith was operating the vessel during the dive.
On Feb. 22, the deputies took another dive trip on board the vessel Miss Jackie, which is owned by Luis Roman of Orlando and operated by Toni Crumrine. The boat was used by the Lake Park-based company Calypso Dive Charters. During this trip, deputies took video of Roman feeding a goliath grouper and a lemon shark. Video also shows Roman trying to lure sharks to his location by shaking a milk crate filled with barracuda chunks. Both feeding incidents happened in state waters.
FWC investigators and PBSO divers used several GPS devices and other methods to confirm these activities were occurring in state waters, which, in the Atlantic, is within (or up to) 3 nautical miles from the nearest point of Florida coastline. Fish feeding in Florida waters has been illegal since 2002.
The FWC presented results from the joint investigations to the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, which charged Jordan, Smith, Roman and Crumrine with operating a vessel for hire within state waters to allow passengers to observe fish feeding. Jordan and Roman were also charged with fish feeding. These are second-degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.
Source: FWC
The sharks had become so aggressive she had to get out of the water….
The Florida Dive boat operators were trying to skirt the regulations. Read about the investigation that led to their arrests.
Ask law makers to punish lawbreakers. http://chn.ge/1nuVCDE
Please reread this. Both of these violations were in state waters. http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/ac157d .
The FWC says:
“The person said the sharks had become so aggressive she had to get out of the water.” and “This is a public safety issue,” said FWC Maj. Camille Soverel. “The FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement wants to ensure these beautiful coastal waters remain safe for divers.”
Contact the FWC with your questions and information on these crimes at: http://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/s/ or as a confidential informant at tip@myfwc.com
If you want interact with wild sharks, remember the shark is in charge of the encounter. Baiting and feeding sharks is illegal and morally wrong.
Ask law makers to punish the lawbreakers. http://chn.ge/1nuVCDE
Captain John Russell
FADI Florida Association of Diving Instructors
MDEA Instructor Evaluator/Course Director
NASE Worldwide Master Instructor
SDI/TDI Instructor
SSI Platinum 5000 Diver – 2011
PADI Master Instructor
Thanks John
Some of the local dive shops in S. Florida think these game violators are hero’s. Force-E loves these game violators. I would like to see any US registered boat be banned from these practices worldwide. The Bahamas should only allow Bahamian owned and operated vessels to operate in the bahamas. The bahamian government keeps their residents poor and allows US operators to make millions.
With every signature to the petition this email goes out each of these Organizations under your name.
To:
PADI Americas QUALITY ASSURANCE
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Willis Dive Insurance
Vicencia Dive Insurance
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Florida State House
Florida State Senate
Stop Shark Baiting, increase the fines, increase protection into federal waters and punish offenders.
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/ac157d
Sincerely,
[Your name]
The recipients of these daily emails will take notice and take action.
Please sign the petition, sign it twice and send it to a friend. Ask law makers to punish to lawbreakers. http://chn.ge/1nuVCDE
Captain John Russell
FADI Florida Association of Diving Instructors
MDEA Instructor Evaluator/Course Director
NASE Worldwide Master Instructor
SDI Instructor
TDI Instructor
SSI Platinum 5000 Diver – 2011
PADI Master Instructor
(407)-505-DIVE (505-3483)
One of our petition signers says.
“My wife was bitten and severely wounded by a shark following a baiting session that she was not involved with (Bahamas). Sharks are prehistoric predators and cannot and must not be treated as domesticated animals – they are not!”
Stuart Ainsworth HUNTINGDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Be sure and read the 150 comments before you sign the Petition,
Please protect sharks and divers click here and sign here http://chn.ge/R1Ycq2
John Russell, Detective and Dive Industry Professional
PB shark feeding case heads to court
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-shark-feeding-case-20140509,0,4536971.story
Protect and save sharks and divers. http://chn.ge/1qjxitC
Hello everyone,
This is only my humble opinion and experience:
There are many places that I know of that allows shark feeding, and it is done with proper measure, a managing plan for the area and rules to follow. The one that I go to every year and take clients to, it’s In Playa del Carmen in Mexico.
We get bull sharks, some times 20 at the time, a trained diver and feeder dose hand feeding with its mesh suit while the rest of the group lays on the sand watching (this precaution measures where taken acordanly to the shark specie we get).
That places is 1 mile or less away from the beach where touris baid and swim, in the last 6 years there has been no accident with sharks in the feeding point or it’s surrounding areas.
What has happens is that every year the sharks come back and let us study them better ( biopsies, tracking devices, photo ID,etc), also it has contribute to the local economi, and most important, it has help sharks bad reputation, more people are interested in sharks conservation more than ever, many fisherman had stop fishing sharks and we are getting close to make a shark santuarium.
All I’m triing to say is that take into account that a shark feeding point in Florida could bring more good then bad to the state and it’s people. Studies made show that shark behavior or migratory routines do not change by being fed occasionally by humans. In fact in playa del Carmenat at the end of the season, they suddenly disappear and come back until next year.
I know this is a sensitive matter for some of you ( I read most of your comments), so all I’m asking is for you to give it a though and reconsider before taking actions against this amazing opportunity that you already have in Jupiter FL.
I am an underwater photographer, also a diving instructor, I have dive with many sharks, different kinds, different places and in all that time all I’ve not foud an “aggressive” behavior. They are wild animals, they are predators and they deserve respect, but most of all, comprehension. Some people get scared if the sharks get exited because they are being fed, they can get closer to divers, but that dos not mean they are being aggressive.
The person that got scared and came out of the water, was she hurt? Or just got scared because that situation was new to her? Did the rest of the group stayed in the water? What happen to them? I bet they just came out with a big smile.
If you haven’t dive with sharks, I strongly recommend it, and if you wold like to come and see how things are done in Playa del Carmen, I wold be happy to take you, It will change your mind and perspective towards sharks.
If you are interested in other places that dose shark feeding, here are some web sites you could look into:
http://fijisharkdive.com
http://www.phantomdivers.com/en/home
http://www.scubaaddicts.com
Again, this is oly my humble opinion and experience.
Have a wonderful day!
Dear Phantom,
Sounds like the Big Lie to me. https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140528040740-147956881-sharks-the-big-lie?trk=prof-post
It’s Inauthentic, It’s Unsustainable, It Perpetuates Myths, It’s Not Good Conservation.
Petitions Against Shark Feeding and Shark Baiting
Continue the prohibition of shark feeding in state waters Fla. Admin. Reg. 68B-5.005. Stop Baiting-Feeding of Sharks: increase fines, protect federal waters and punish offenders. http://chn.ge/1lyxhtG
Continue the prohibition of shark feeding in state waters Fla. Admin. Reg. 68B-5.005. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/683/006/717/
Stop Baiting-Feeding of Sharks outside of Florida’s territorial waters. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/269/368/868/
I think feeding wildlife is ridiculous.. only irrational folks that would lead you to believe Sharks are the only animal on the planet not influenced by foodl
I’m with you on this, John – not a fan of feeding….Feeding of sharks, like the feeding of bears, alligators, raccoons, baboons, dogs, cats, birds, groupers, deer, etc. has consequences. There’s a reason why resource managers discourage or legally ban such activity. Entrainment is a biological fact and anyone that believes otherwise has their head in the sand. ~ George Burgess Florida’s Top Shark Scientist
John Russell, Detective and Dive Industry Professional
I believe Iskander makes some valid points on shark feeding, J.Russel is on a personal anti shark feeding crusade, a vendetta… if he really cared about saving the ocean denizens he would create petitions against all fishing, which is raping the oceans, even the increase in diver certifications is creating havoc with marine life, divers inadvertently destroy reefs and the underwater environment (some directly), spearfishermen also automatically become shark feeders, that wriggling fish on the end of a spear is an open invitation to feeding sharks.
Why not direct your obvious anger to REAL problems and protest the shark finning, the true evil of shark destruction, shark feeding pales in importance to all these other matters.
I am the other guy.
There are Shark Lovers and Shark Haters.
Shark lovers love sharks to death and shark haters hate sharks to death.
I am the other guy, I want sharks to survive both.
If you are the other guy too please sign our petition, http://chn.ge/1lyxhtG
Florida cannot and will not ever allow fish feeding. They have an iron clad laws which prevents them from being sued in the event of a negative shark human interaction. Allowing shark feeding creates loopholes and opens doors where the state could be sued. That’s the reason the law was passed.
See the paper at http://www.divefla.com/nofeed.pdf
What we all still fail to understand is that thousands of divers and spearfishermen in the underwater environment are inadvertently interacting with all marine life, to that add thousands of boats dangling chunks of dead barracuda over the side (fish feeding), and we’re all greatly disrupting the marine environment and affecting all the natural ecological processes The difference being, those sports support an enormous economic base of voting constituents, shark feeding only benefits a few. Blaming shark feeders for changing fish behavior without addressing, holistically, all human/marine interaction is irresponsible. It’s like treating a head-cold and ignoring the great cancerous growth underneath . I think Al Brenneka hits it on the head, the laws are based on potential lawsuits and financial considerations more than actual protection of marine life.
Note: I have been studying sharky incidents since mine 38 years ago. We have seen an increase in frontal incidents not common for sharks they like the sneak approach from the back also an increase in hand injuries.
Al
Articles of Interest
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/ac157d FWC
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-03-20/news/fl-shark-feeding-20140320_1_sharks-palm-beach-county-sheriff-dive-boats Sun News Article
http://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/jupiter/randall-jordan-charged-with-feeding-sharks-wildlife-officers-says-it-is-dangerous
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2014/03/south_florida_dive_charters_ac.php
http://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/s/ FWC Offices
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=61105308274 SHARK Cowboys
http://sharkattacksurvivors.com/
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2014/feb/17/florida-led-world-23-shark-attacks-2013-photos/
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/2013summary.html UF
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/diveradvice.htm UF
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/about-us/people/spotlight/burgess/ UF
http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=14034
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/03/20/diver-operators-accused-of-illegally-feeding-sharks/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/keepsharksalive/752744758099705/?notif_t=group_activity fin concievable
http://sharkattacksurvivors.com/shark_attack/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1352
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/scuba/activity/Activity.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWS0gkkZi98
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=34670105189 Abernathy Event
http://www.whkpa.com/2011/04/floridas-law-against-feeding-sharks-the-bahamas-loophole-can-injure-tourists/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/999533/Swimming-with-sharks-is-it-ever-safe.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/287659-shark-kills-french-diver-marsa-alam.html
http://sharkattacksurvivors.com/shark_attack/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1352
Hi,
Florida didn’t just stop shark feeding they had to stop all all fish feeding. We had hundreds of divers going to the same reef each with 2 – 4 cans of cheese whiz day after day, week after week, month after month feeding reef fish cheese whiz, as we know that shit is no good for humans and deadly to fish, they were dying from the cheese. whiz.. 800 hundred cans of cheese whiz daily. In a month 24,000 cans of cheese feed to the fish on one reef is crazy and the dive operators promoted these actions for a few dollars.
A game violator is a game violator and the promoting of violating game and fish laws is terrible. These people were promoting game violations to the public. Be like me ignore the game and fish laws and do what you want. is what they were teaching. and some feel this a good idea we are divers. When the fisherman promote follow game and fish laws. If you want to violate the laws is up to you, but teaching others to violate game and fish laws as these operators did is stupid. they should be banned from entering the ocean
Al
Shark Cowboy Randall Jordan Guilty of breaking Florida Shark Feeding Law.
Guilty on all three counts.
– No jail time. 12 months probation.
– Total $1,500 fines.
– Must pay court costs $1,800.
– Community service.
– Investigation costs to be determined later.
The investigation costs share could be high. the State Attorney said during sentencing that they wanted to hurt Jordan in the pocket book which was his motivation for doing this shark feeding activity.
Feeding sharks to make a buck is not conservation. Commodifying predators and/or entrainment of sharks is not conservation. It is animal abuse.
We ask divers to boycott boats, captains, instructors, divers and businesses that break Florida law by feeding or baiting fish for amusement and to avoid shark education awareness scams, etc. Report violations of law to the FWC by calling the Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-3922. You can also text or email Tip@MyFWC.com.