Middle Keys

Sombrero Beach Park, Marathon, Florida Keys

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels

Sombrero Beach in Marathon, Florida, may be the quintessential example of a multi-use beach. Am I talking swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, picnicking, volleyball, barbecuing, and climbing on playground playground equipment? Well, all those things can be done at this beach, but that’s not what I was referring to.

Sombrero is a multi-use beach because humans are not the only ones that use it. Between April and October each year, Loggerhead turtles crawl up onto the beach at night to lay their eggs in the sand. During these months, city workers remove tables and park benches from the beach, nesting areas are roped off, and local officials and volunteers patrol the beach at least once a day to ensure nests are not disturbed. The rest of the year belongs entirely to humans and their canine friends, who are welcome as long as they are leashed (the dogs, not the humans).

With soft white sand, gentle waters, and no crowds, Sombrero Beach is a favorite with locals and visitors.

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Wanted: Fast stone-crab eaters in the Florida Keys

The much-anticipated opening of Florida’s stone crab season takes place Oct. 15 but the 2011-12 season opening is going to be followed by a tasty test of crab-consuming capacity.

The inaugural Stone Crab Eating Contest, a challenge for amateur eaters, is set for Oct. 22 beginning at 1 p.m. at Keys Fisheries Market & Marina, off U.S. 1 at 35th Street bayside, Marathon.

Entrants must register and be present by noon the day of the event, and are tasked with cracking and eating 25 stone crab claws, picking them completely clean, in the fastest time. In the event of a tie, those competitors must face off in a 10-claw competition to determine the winner.

Prizes are to be awarded to the top three finishers. The first-place winner is to receive a two-night lodging package at Key West’s Doubletree Grand Key Resort featuring champagne, dinner for two and a sunset cruise on a tall ship or catamaran.

The second-place crab consumer earns a Swim with the Dolphins package at the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key, while the third-place finisher wins a $50 Keys Fisheries gift certificate.

The entry fee is $25 per contestant, and you must be at least 18. The contest is limited to 50 participants. Among the rules:

No professional eaters — amateurs only.
Contestants will be allowed to drink water during the competition.
If a contestant throws up, he or she is automatically disqualified.
Grounds for disqualification include:

Not disclosing risks that could jeopardize the contestant’s health or well-being.
Being under the influence of any substance.
Your appearance and/or clothing is deemed inappropriate (dress is Keys attire).
Starting prior to the start signal.
Any food in a competitor’s mouth at the final whistle counts toward the final tally if the competitor chews and swallows that portion of the competitive food. But competitors may not stuff food into their mouth in the final seconds of the contest to increase their total. Judges have the discretion to impose penalties on those who do.

Stone crabs are considered by many to be the finest Florida seafood for their succulent claw meat. In addition, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, they are the state’s only renewable seafood resource. Legal-size claws are harvested between Oct. 15 and May 15 each year, and the crab’s body is returned to the water to generate new claws.

To register for the contest, go to www.keysfisheries.com.

Lobster Mobster Caught Off Grassy Key

By KEVIN WADLOW

http://www.keysnet.com

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Fifteen lobster tails were seized as evidence Monday when state wildlife officers arrested a St. Augustine man spearfishing near Grassy Key. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers charged Bruce L. Beall, 39, with 19 misdemeanor counts of conservation violations.

FWC officers checked Beall when they saw him spearfishing in Gulf of Mexico waters north of Grass Key, FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said. It’s illegal to spear lobster, and to separate tails from the lobster body on the water. All the tails were undersized and taken in a closed season, Dube said.

If the lobster had been egg-bearing, “he’d have had the whole set” of possible crawfish violations, Dube noted. The incident was the most serious conservation violation reported from the Memorial Day weekend in the Keys, the officer said.

Lobster season is closed from April 1 to the sport-diving days the last Wednesday and Thursday in July.

Lobster Mobsters Arrested

Two Florida Middle Keys commercial fishermen were arrested Wednesday on charges of harvesting undersized spiny lobster, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. An FWC officer stopped and boarded the men’s commercial crawfish vessel for a routine inspection on the bayside of Long Key Bridge, spokesman Bob Dube said. The officer found 252 wrung and undersized lobster tails and another 97 live undersize lobsters in a live well.

Eduardo Ramos Jr., 34, and Jesus Morales Jr., 24, were both charged with having undersized and over the limit lobster and taken to the Marathon jail, reports said. Ramos’ bond was set at $15,000; Morales’ at $20,000.

Miami Lobster Mobster Charged With Possession of 332 Wrung Tails in Row Boat

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff

An accused lobster poacher allegedly tried to sneak into an Upper Keys marina with hundreds of wrung tails early Tuesday.

Jorge Vargas, 46, of Miami was charged with possession of 332 wrung lobster tails on the water, possession of 332 over-the-limit lobster tails, possession of 274 undersized lobster tails and possession of nine stone crab claws out of season. All are misdemeanors.

Vargas reportedly was rowing a small boat with no lights toward Sea Bird Marina on Long Key at 2:30 a.m. when a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy stopped him, searched the vessel and found two large mesh bags full of lobster tails, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spokesman Bobby Dube said.

Vargas had no dive gear and no bully net on the boat, but there was lobster trap mud on the vessel, which led FWC officers to believe Vargas had been robbing traps, Dube said. He had neither a commercial nor recreational fishing license, Dube said.

The area north of Long Key in the Gulf of Mexico historically has been known to lure trap robbers.

“It’s very easy to go undetected there,” Dube said. “There are not a lot of houses and it’s mostly mangrove shoreline. Nobody is going to rob traps in front of a row of condos or houses.”

Conch Key-based commercial fisherman Gary Nichols said he doesn’t put traps in that area because they were always plucked by thieves.

“For the past couple of years, trap robbing there has been really bad,” Nichols said.

Vargas was booked into the Monroe County jail in Plantation Key.

Lobster thieves often strike, Dube said, while commercial fishermen are busy preparing for stone crab season, which begins Saturday.

4 Local Marathon Lobster Mobsters Arrested & Charged With Felonies

Boat operator Nelson Rojas, 43; and crewmen Jesus Zuluago Carillo, 35; Maikel Martinez Alvarez, 31; and Raudel Rubio, 25, all of Marathon, were arrested. Twenty undersized lobster were seized.

Apparently spooked by a passing Mosquito Control aircraft, crewmen aboard a Marathon-based commercial lobster boat drew the attention of marine officers Sept. 2. An investigation ended with the arrest of all four on felony charges from a suspected trap-robbing trip north of the Seven Mile Bridge, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“Our officers were working undercover on the water when they saw a boat — the Classy Lady — suddenly start moving and traveling in a zig-zag pattern,” said Officer Bobby Dube, an FWC spokesman. “A [Florida Keys] Mosquito Control [District] aircraft flew overhead, and these guys seemed to think it was one of our FWC planes,” Dube said. “That alerted our officers to them.”

Officers Bryan Fugate and Josh Peters kept an eye on the boat and moved in after they reported witnessing possible trap-robbing activity. The officers said the crewmen began dumping containers of lobster over the side of the boat, even after one of the officers had boarded the lobster boat. That resulted in felony evidence-tampering charges added to felony trap-molesting counts.

“Some people believe that if they get rid of the lobster, they won’t get charged for having a big number of lobster,” Dube said. “They’ll still get hit with a felony for interfering with an officer.”

Marathon’s Faro Blanco Resort May Return in 2012

Veterinarian Doug Mader Discusses Iguanas in Keys

Doug Mader of Marathon Veterinary Hospital will be Save-A-Turtle’s guest speaker 7:30 p.m. Monday at The Turtle Hospital, 2396 Overseas Highway,

“Iguanas in the Keys” is the title of the presentation by Mader, who is the consulting veterinarian for the Key West Aquarium, The Turtle Hospital and the Monroe County sheriff’s Animal Farm. He’s had many articles published in scientific and veterinary journals, national magazines and more, and wrote the Saunders publication “Reptile Medicine and Surgery.”

Also there will be author Bonnie J. Doerr, who wrote “Stakeout,” a book inspired by The Turtle Hospital and Save-A-Turtle, whose meetings are 7:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month.

Florida Keys Paddle Challenge Feb. 18-21 2011

Capacity: 100 people
Distance: approx 30 miles
Registration: $200/person
Meals: $100/person

Before the great city of Miami existed, Henry Flagler envisioned a railroad across the sea that would promote a cultural and economic connection with Cuba, the Panama Canal and South America. Construction began in 1904. On January 22, 1912, Henry Flagler rode the railroad to Key West, where the project was heralded by the press as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” It was Flagler’s vision that makes the Florida Keys an economically viable destination. Today the Keys are a paddler’s paradise, with shallow water in five shades of blue and green. We hope you can join us to revisit Henry Flagler’s vision!
Itinerary:

Feb 18 – Curry Hammock State Park check in and set up camp. Kick-off dinner, overview of the trip and mandatory pre-launch briefing.

Feb 19 – Curry Hammock State Park to Knight’s Key Campground(11 miles). Depart Curry Hammock State Park after breakfast. Rest stop is at Sombrero Beach (8 miles).

The crossing from Sombrero Beach to Knight’s Key Campground can be hazardous and this trip is only for the first 100 experienced paddlers with boats that are appropriate for the conditions, meaning that paddlers should be paddling sea kayaks with skegs/rudders and spray skirts mandatory.  We will spend the night at Knight’s Key Campground for dinner and an evening program.

Feb 20 – Knight’s Key Campground to Bahia Honda State Park. (9 miles) Rest stop at Molasses Key (4 miles), halfway across the 7-mile bridge. Depart Knight’s Key Campground after breakfast for the Seven-Mile Bridge crossing.

During the scouting trip, we had 4-foot seas; it was clear that conditions can range from very rough to very calm. If conditions are not favorable to attempt the crossing, we will have an alternative day’s agenda. The rest stop is about halfway between Knight’s Key and Bahia Honda at the Molasses Keys, two islands that are south of the Seven-Mile-Bridge.

Once you make it to the Molasses Keys, you are halfway home. We are on the ocean side for the whole trip until we get to Bahia Honda, where we cut into the bay side right after Ohio Key. Camping will be at Bahia Honda State Park on the bay side of the island.

Feb 21 – Circumnavigate Bahia Honda before departure.

After breakfast, we will circumnavigate the island and return to the camp for departure.  Don’t forget, Key West is now just 35 miles away.  Those wishing to forego the last day’s paddle can take advantage of attractions offered at the park, including snorkeling trips to Loo Key.  We will have a barbeque with many photos opportunities, after the paddle and before departure.

Pigeon Key Marine Summer Camp

The Pigeon Key Foundation offers marine science-based summer camps July 12 to 16 and Aug. 2 to 6 from the private island beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge, between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Campers will explore marine habitats, learn to identify reef fish, study shark anatomy, dissection and much more.

There also will be guided snorkeling trips on the foundation's 40-foot catamaran and a competitive underwater obstacle course. Campers 10 years old and up can become certified divers through the program, as well.

For more information, call 203-500-7113 or go to http://www.Pigeonkey.net and click the events and forms link.

via Mile Markers | KeysNews.com.