Latest news with #MarineMammalProtectionAct
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
Illegally imported tuna found in Virginia, officials say. Grocery store fined
A grocery store chain was fined after investigators found it had illegally imported more than 1,100 pounds of yellowfin tuna in Virginia, officials said. Officers learned two shipments of the jarred tuna came from a Nicaraguan fishing vessel during a June 2023 investigation in Chesapeake, officials said. The probe was conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Virginia Conservation Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the NOAA Fisheries said in a May 28 news release. Importing 'certain non-fresh tuna products' to the U.S. from Nicaragua and six other countries is illegal because they don't meet dolphin-safety requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to officials. The yellowfin tuna surrendered was worth more than $4,800, officials said. NOAA Fisheries did not name the grocery store chain in its release. The chain paid a $12,516 penalty in February, officials said. According to the NOAA, more than 55 new trade enforcement cases have been filed between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
This Charter Captain Shot Dolphins with School Kids Onboard. Now He's Going to Jail
Most people rank dolphins right up there with puppies and baby chimps in terms of lovable animals. They're cute, playful, and highly intelligent, so I get odd looks when I tell folks I've never been a huge fan of 'Flipper.' I'll watch dolphins jump through rings at SeaWorld with my kids all day, but if you spend a lot of time fishing in saltwater, you'll learn that their impressive IQ can make them a nuisance to anglers. Dolphins will surround the school of bait you're on and drive away the tuna or stripers you were catching. They can be so adept at taking hooked fish off your line that you'll never get a catch to the boat. I've experienced this several times, including in the Amazon with pink freshwater dolphins. They were so aggressive that you genuinely felt bad hooking another peacock bass because doing so was a death sentence for the fish 95 percent of the time. Bigger predators screwing up your fishing, however, is just part of the game from time to time. And freshwater anglers aren't immune. Pike and muskies routinely snatch bass and perch off the line. Snapping turtles get to your cut bait before the fish. In just about every stitch of saltwater that touches the U.S. — especially Florida — having a shark wallop a grouper or snapper as you're reeling it in is incredibly common. Losing fish to sharks happens so often, in fact, that it's referred to as 'paying the taxman.' Head up to New England and seals might swarm your boat to attack every porgy, seabass, or bluefish you're trying to put in the cooler. Fish the bayous of the Mississippi Delta and a gator might grab your redfish. We get frustrated or moan and groan about it at the bar, but the average angler just lives with these occasional problems. Of course, sometimes people get so frustrated over losing fish they take things too far, which was recently the case in Florida. Though I've heard stories about charter captains going medieval on protected sharks and getting in trouble for it, I've never heard something as egregious as the violation that led Captain Zackery Barfield to jail time and a fine north of $50,000. Barfield plead guilty to three counts of killing bottlenose dolphins, according to USA Today. Bottlenose dolphins are highly protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (as every saltwater angler should know). The incidents occurred between 2022 and 2023, but he was just recently sentenced to 30 days in jail plus a $51,000 fine, followed by a one-year term of supervised release. Barfield claims to have gotten frustrated by dolphins taking red snapper off his clients' lines during the short recreational season in the Gulf of Mexico. As a countermeasure, he began lacing baitfish with methomyl, a highly toxic pesticide harmful to humans and wildlife, and feeding them to the dolphins around his boat. Beyond violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, using this poison also violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which accounted for the heftier sentence. Methomyl is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency and is only supposed to be used in non-residential settings to control flies, though Barfield fed the poisoned baits to an estimated 24 to 70 dolphins over the course of several months. If that wasn't bad enough, Barfield also used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot dolphins that were after clients' fish, including during one trip with elementary school-aged children onboard. It was confirmed that Barfield killed at least one dolphin with a shotgun between December 2022 and summer 2023, though he shot at least five more that did not immediately die near the boat. Beyond the atrocious act of killing protected marine mammals, carrying a bucket of poison and firing a shotgun on a boat full of customers shows a complete lack of disregard for safety. And, of course, doing all these things in the presence of clients just shows a complete lack of rational thought. I can't imagine Barfield was surprised that he got caught, because, according to the story, special agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had been investigating him for two years following a tip that he was killing dolphins. The article doesn't specify where the tip came from, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn it was from a charter customer. If I'd witnessed behavior like this, I'd have made that call, too. It's also ridiculous to think that these actions would really do anything to quell the dolphin problem in the grand scheme of things. In the end, this story begs the question: How much is a fish worth? My answer is that there is no fish on the planet worth risking your safety or the safety of others or facing jail time, fines, and irreparable damage to your reputation. Read Next: Great White Shark Tales from Cape Cod's Charter Boat Captains Though I can understand Barfield's frustration, captains have no more control over the behavior of the dolphins than they do the weather or a lack of a bite, which clients need to understand. You either deal it and sacrifice some fish, or you move and hope the dolphins don't follow you. The bottom line is that we're all stewards on the water and the critters who live there, which extends far beyond how we treat the fish we're trying to catch.
USA Today
27-05-2025
- USA Today
Fishing captain sentenced for shooting, poisoning dolphins in Gulf of America
Fishing captain sentenced for shooting, poisoning dolphins in Gulf of America From 2014 to 2024, there were 21 known intentional dolphin fatalities from gunshot wounds, arrows, explosives and other sharp objects, the NOAA said. Show Caption Hide Caption NOAA app to help dolphins, whales, other marine animals The Dolphin and Whale 911 app lets you easily report a marine mammal in need of help. Problem Solved A "longtime charter and commercial fishing captain" is in deep waters after poisoning and shooting dolphins in the Gulf of America, formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico, federal authorities said. Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay a $51,000 fine months after pleading guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the Northern District of Florida announced on May 23. "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." Barfield, who's been a licensed charter and commercial fishing captain in the Panama City area throughout his adulthood, poisoned and shot bottlenose dolphins on multiple occasions from 2022 to 2023, the U.S. attorney's office said, citing court documents and statements made in court. He pleaded guilty to his crimes in February, court records show. When did Barfield begin poisoning and shooting dolphins? Federal prosecutors reference a time in the summer of 2022 when Barfield became frustrated with the dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of his charter fishing clients. To rid the problem, he began placing methomyl, a highly toxic pesticide that's harmful to humans and wildlife, inside baitfish to poison the dolphins that came up near his boat, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Methomyl is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency to control flies in non-residential settings, federal prosecutors said. Despite knowing the toxicity of methomyl, Barfield continued to feed poisoned baitfish to the dolphins for months, including on an estimated six to seven charter trips, the U.S. attorney's office said. While Barfield was captaining fishing trips in December 2022 and the summer of 2023, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at least five dolphins when he saw them eating snapper from his client's fishing lines, federal officials said, adding that he killed one during this period. Other times, Barfield shot but did not immediately kill dolphins near his boat. Barfield shot a dolphin in front of elementary-aged children The U.S. attorney's office said on one trip, Barfield shot a dolphin while two elementary-aged children were aboard his boat, along with more than a dozen fishermen. "He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children," Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson, of the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement. How did federal authorities find out about Barfield's crimes? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration learned about Barfield's behaviors in 2023 when one of its special agents received a tip about a fisherman killing bottlenose dolphins, the government agency said, adding that this information culminated in a two-year investigation. Evidence obtained throughout the investigation determined that Barfield fed between 24-70 dolphins poison-laden baitfish on charter trips that he captained, according to the NOAA. When asked why, the captain said he was "frustrated with dolphins stealing his catch," the government agency said. From 2014 to 2024, there were 21 known intentional dolphin killings from gunshot wounds, arrows, explosives and other sharp objects, the NOAA said. "There are consequences to individuals who decide to harm protected and endangered species," Paige Casey, acting assistant director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement Southeast Division, said in a statement. "We take these types of actions seriously and we will exhaust any and all leads related to marine mammal deaths to prosecute bad actors to the full extent of the law." Barfield's prison sentence will be followed by a one-year term of supervised release, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Global News
27-05-2025
- Global News
Florida fisherman sentenced to prison for shooting, poisoning dolphins
A Florida charter boat captain is looking at both jail time and a hefty fine for poisoning and shooting dolphins. Zackery Brandon Barfield, a 31-year-old fishing boat operator, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay a US$51,000 fine after a court found him guilty of three counts of poisoning and shooting the animals from his boat. The Department of Justice says that in 2022 and 2023, Barfield both fed bottlenose dolphins a poisonous pesticide and slaughtered them after he became frustrated that the marine mammals were eating the red snapper on his clients' fishing lines. His actions violated both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, according to federal prosecutors. View image in full screen Seized evidence showing a shotgun and pesticide used by Zackery Barfield to kill dolphins. Handout / NOAA Prosecutors said that Barfield understood the dangers of feeding the dolphins methomyl, a harmful pesticide, but chose to do it anyway. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methomyl can cause problems in the nervous systems of mammals. Story continues below advertisement 'He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children,' said Adam Gustafson, an acting assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's environment and natural resources division, according to The New York Times. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy According to the outlet, an investigation into Barfield's assault on the animals began in 2023, after an agent at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) fisheries division received a tip that dolphins were being killed by a fisherman. NOAA, in a statement distributed Friday, said Barfield used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at least five dolphins, and one was confirmed killed. The organization says at least one of the shootings happened during a fishing tour, where multiple witnesses watched it happen, including two elementary school-aged kids. 'Based on evidence obtained in the course of the investigation, Barfield fed an estimated 24–70 dolphins poison-laden baitfish on charter trips that he captained,' NOAA said, adding that Barfield stated he was 'frustrated with dolphins 'stealing' his catch.' 'The subject's actions were intentional and heartless, and we'll continue to pursue any harmful acts against marine mammals,' Paige Casey, the acting assistant director of NOAA OLE Southeast Division, said in the statement. 'Egregious crimes such as in this case have serious consequences.' The sentencing follows Barfield's guilty plea to three counts on Feb. 12. Story continues below advertisement His prison sentence will be followed by a one-year term of supervised release.
Vancouver Sun
27-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
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. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. '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.'
