Some people just have to learn the hard way that crime—particularly poaching—doesn’t pay. Two men, one from Vero Beach, the other from Oak Hill, are now serving prison sentences—yes, in the state penitentiary—for illegal use of monofilament nets (gill nets) in Florida waters.

Marvin Bonilla, arrested in the Vero Beach case, will spend the next four years behind bars, in addition to paying some hefty fines, after being charged with illegal use of nets, possession of snook out of season, illegal method of harvesting snook and possession of undersize sheepshead. Three men also apprehended with Bonilla were ordered to pay fines of $1,500 each or more for their poaching roles.

The first poacher sentenced under the new repeat offender guidelines was Daniel Goodrich of Oak Hill. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Family-level fishermen state-wide applaud these convictions. It’s time that poachers convicted for breaking state fishery laws were sentenced to more than a slap on the wrist.

FS