A Florida wildlife officer said he watched a 62-year-old man drag a commercial lobster trap toward shore, remove lobsters from it, and place one into a red mesh bag before the encounter ended with an arrest and an initial felony allegation.
The January 15, 2025, incident in Monroe County was presented by the YouTube channel Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife, which identified the man only as Michael and said the patrol began near mile marker 35 on the Atlantic side of the Florida Keys.
According to the footage, the officer observed Michael pull the trap toward the shoreline before throwing one lobster back into the water and keeping another. When questioned, Michael initially denied that the lobster had come from the trap, but the officer told him he had been watching from nearby.
Michael was arrested and initially faced allegations connected to taking lobster from someone else’s commercial trap and possessing an undersized lobster. The channel later reported that the felony trap charge was dropped for reasons that remain unclear, while the misdemeanor lobster case was still pending.
The Officer Said He Watched From a Distance
The encounter began when the patrol officer spotted a man in blue swim trunks pulling what appeared to be a commercial lobster trap toward shore.
After turning his vehicle around and parking out of view, the officer said he watched Michael for several moments before approaching.
During that time, he allegedly saw Michael open the trap, remove lobsters, throw one back into the water, and place another inside a red catch bag.
The officer then contacted a woman who was nearby, asked whether she was with Michael, and requested identification from both of them before walking down to the shoreline.
Michael told the officer that he had two lobsters and said his measuring device was in the car.
When asked how far he had gone to catch them, he appeared to indicate the nearby trap, but then denied that one of the lobsters had come from it.
The officer immediately challenged that answer.
“I’ve been watching,” he told Michael, adding that there was little point continuing the denial because he had personally seen him pull the lobster from the trap.
That observation made the case considerably stronger than one based only on a damaged trap or a commercial fisherman’s later suspicion.
Pulling From Someone Else’s Trap Was the Central Issue
The officer explained that Michael was not allowed to remove lobster from a trap that did not belong to him.
He said the trap was commercial fishing equipment and that Michael did not hold the commercial authorization required to harvest lobster through that method.
Michael did have a valid saltwater fishing license, a recreational lobster permit, and registrations associated with crab traps, according to the radio check heard in the footage.
Those permits allowed him to participate in certain lawful fishing activities, but they did not give him the right to open another person’s commercial lobster trap.
The officer described the conduct as theft because the trap and anything lawfully harvested through it belonged to someone else.
Commercial traps are not simply unattended containers available to whoever finds them. They are working equipment tied directly to a fisherman’s income, and removing catch from them can cause losses that are difficult to detect or document.
Michael appeared surprised by the seriousness of the situation and asked whether touching the trap was actually prohibited.
The officer told him there were several separate problems: the trap was not his, he was not a commercial lobster fisherman, and one of the lobsters appeared too small to keep.
One Lobster Failed the Size Check
After advising Michael of his rights, the officer measured the lobsters using both Michael’s gauge and an official measuring device.
One lobster met the legal requirement, but the second was undersized.
The officer showed Michael how the shell extended past the gauge, explaining that it was not supposed to do so if the lobster was large enough to keep.
Because both animals were still alive, the officer returned them to the water and expressed hope that they would survive.
That decision protected the resource while allowing the alleged violations to be documented through photographs, measurements, bodycam footage, and the officer’s observations.
Michael told the officer that he had been visiting the Florida Keys for around seven years and had begun lobstering the previous year.
He also said he had served 10 years in the Marine Corps and was in the area while waiting for a Department of Veterans Affairs appointment.
The officer remained respectful during the conversation but told Michael that his experience and existing permits made the denial harder to understand.
Michael eventually acknowledged the officer’s point, saying he had not initially looked at the situation that way but now understood what was being explained.
Michael Expected a Warning but Was Arrested
Once another officer arrived, Michael was told he was being arrested.
He reacted with disbelief and asked whether he was really going to jail over the incident.
The officer said the allegations involved harvesting from the trap, theft, and possession of an undersized lobster. He explained that interfering with commercial traps was treated seriously because the equipment represented the owners’ livelihoods.
Michael said he had expected a warning or citation rather than an arrest.
The officer responded that most conservation violations are criminal matters under Florida law and said the trap-related allegation was being handled as a felony at that stage.
Michael remained cooperative while being handcuffed and did not create additional problems for officers.
He was told he would be taken to the Stock Island jail, where he would be processed and later informed about any bond. Officers also allowed him to speak with the woman accompanying him and arrange access to his money, telephone, and other personal property.
The calm nature of the arrest did not reduce the seriousness of the accusations, but it did prevent the situation from becoming more difficult than it already was.
Commercial Fishermen Said Trap Theft Was Widespread
Officer Garcia later contacted the commercial operator whose trap had been seized as evidence.
She explained that Michael had allegedly dragged the trap to shore and removed two lobsters, although one was released before officers approached.
The trap itself was not seriously damaged, but its buoy was missing, and the owner would be unable to use it while it remained in evidence.
The commercial fisherman reacted strongly, saying the business had been losing traps and catch to theft throughout the year.
She said the family had worked in commercial fishing for approximately 35 years and complained that people who took from their equipment often received little more than a minor consequence.
The owner also wanted Michael held responsible for the income lost while the trap remained unavailable.
Garcia explained that FWC was handling the criminal side of the case, while a claim for lost earnings might need to be pursued separately as a civil matter.
The officer promised that the trap would be preserved and returned once the court case and evidence process were complete.
This part of the footage showed why trap interference is treated differently from someone keeping one undersized lobster during an ordinary recreational trip.
For a commercial operator, the loss includes not only the animal removed that day, but also the use of costly equipment and the catch it might have produced over time.
The Felony Allegation Was Later Dropped
Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife reported that Michael was ultimately charged with possession of an undersized lobster and molesting a spiny lobster trap without the owner’s consent.
However, the channel said the felony allegation connected to the commercial trap was later dropped.
No explanation was provided, making it impossible to know whether prosecutors believed the evidence did not support the original charge, chose to pursue a lesser offense, encountered a legal technicality, or made another discretionary decision.
The remaining undersized-lobster case was still ongoing when the channel published its update.
Because no final ruling had been reported, Michael should not be described as convicted of either allegation.
The case nevertheless demonstrates how quickly an apparently casual decision around unattended fishing equipment can become a serious criminal investigation.
Michael had valid fishing permits and was familiar enough with the area to have visited for years, but none of that authorized him to open a commercial trap owned by someone else.
The officer said he watched the conduct unfold firsthand, recovered an undersized lobster, documented the trap, and notified its owner, yet the most serious charge still failed to survive.
That outcome may frustrate the commercial fisherman, particularly after she described repeated losses, but a dropped felony does not necessarily mean the encounter was insignificant or that the original concerns were unfounded.
It means only that the felony case did not continue.
What remains is a narrower misdemeanor dispute involving the lobster itself and a bodycam record showing how one trap on the shoreline led from a wildlife patrol to handcuffs, jail processing, and a legal case that became less serious than officers first expected.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
