Sadistic Florida fisherman jailed and fined for killing dolphins in front of kids
A Florida fishing boat captain was sentenced to one month behind bars after he admitted to poisoning and fatally shooting dolphins, sometimes in front of children.
Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, of Panama City, Fla., used a 12-gauge shotgun during fishing trips in 2022 and 2023 when he opened fire on five bottlenose dolphins, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Barfield also fed poisoned bait to dozens more of the marine animals, using methomyl, a highly toxic pesticide that affects the nervous system of humans, mammals and other animals.
'Barfield recognized methomyl's toxicity and impact on the environment but continued to feed poisoned baitfish to the dolphins for months,' the release stated.
Barfield's sick spree, which took place between December 2022 and the summer of 2023, began over frustration that dolphins were eating red snapper from his clients' fishing lines.
He shot at dolphins that surfaced near his vessel, immediately killing one.
'On other occasions, Barfield shot, but did not immediately kill, dolphins near his vessel,' the U.S. Attorney's office said.
'On one trip he shot a dolphin while two elementary-aged children were on board, and another with more than a dozen fisherman on board.'
Barfield fed an estimated '24–70 dolphins poison-laden baitfish' during six to seven charter trips that he captained, NOAA Fisheries said in a statement.
'Barfield was a longtime charter and commercial fishing captain,' said acting assistant attorney general Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
'He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children,' Gustafson noted.
Barfield pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal taking of a marine mammal and one count of federally prohibited use of a pesticide, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
He was also ordered to pay a $51,000 fine for three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins, a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
'The Gulf of America is a vital natural resource,' acting U.S. attorney Michelle Spaven said in a statement.
'The defendant's selfish acts are more than illegally poisoning and shooting protected animals — they are serious crimes against public resources, threats to the local ecosystem, and a devastating harm to a highly intelligent and charismatic species.'
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