Today, the legislation to increase the penalty for flagrant illegal netting (HB 1313) moved through the House Appropriations Committee and is now set for a final passage vote on the House floor.

“This historical legislation will strengthen penalties for illegal netting and ensure future generations the benefit of Florida’s natural resources,” said Representative Andy Gardiner, sponsor of HB 1313.

On Thursday, HB 1313 was passed unanimously by the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee.

CCA Florida Executive Director Ted Forsgren stated that although the constitutional ban on gillnets has been in effect for almost nine years, blatant, illegal netting is still occurring in many areas of the state. Just two months ago, FWC officers caught outlaw netters with more than 5,000 lbs. of mullet in the Charlotte Harbor area, the largest inshore netting violation since the enactment of the gillnet ban. Arrests involving hundreds of yards of gillnet and thousands of pounds of fish are common.

HB 1313 creates a “flagrant violation” which is defined as a net with a mesh area larger than 2000 sq. ft. or the use of a monofilament gill net. These flagrant violations would become third degree felonies for the first and subsequent offenses. In addition, there would be a mandatory civil penalty for the first “flagrant violation” of $5000 and a suspension of all saltwater licenses for 12 months. For second or subsequent violations, there would be a mandatory $5000 civil penalty and a lifetime revocation of the saltwater products license as well as the forfeiture of all gear and equipment used in the violation.

“This legislation would not have come this far without the hard work and tremendous commitment of Representative Gardiner,” said Forsgren. “Major poaching operations and flagrant violators are the specific target of this bill. Passage of this bill is a huge and important step toward getting these poachers off the water.”