More Illicit Marine Trade In The Florida Keys

by | Jul 3, 2014 | Fish | 0 comments

bonnethead74 year old Charles Jamison was charged on Friday with Felony Conspiracy, for taking Bonnethead sharks from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary without a federal license. If found guilty, the violation of the Lacy Act imposes up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.00, along with the loss of his boat and gear.  Bonnetheads are in popular demand on the aquarium market and can cost $350.00 or more. In the past couple of years there has been a crackdown on illegal trafficking of wildlife in the Keys. Earlier this year I wrote about the Idaho Aquarium Sentence. In this case Jamison has pleaded not guilty, it will probably be some time in the judicial system before we know more. MORE

  • Francis is a marine biologist with an MBA and over 20 years of professional aquarium experience. Francis is the former Aquatic Development Manager at Hagen USA., makers of Fluval brand aquarium products. He co-stars on Nat Geo WILD's reality TV series Fish Tank Kings where he is the resident "Fish Geek" and was Director of Marketing at Living Color Aquariums. He is an avid explorer having visited over 45 countries and lived in 7. At 17, he was among the youngest aquarists ever hired by the Vancouver Aquarium, where he worked for 7 years. His aquatic biology experience ranges from larval fish rearing to the design, construction and operational management of renowned public aquariums around the world. Francis is currently head of marketing at the world's largest vertically integrated fish farming company.

    View all posts

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *