PANAMA CITY BEACH — A local fisherman has been charged with harpooning a 505-pound Mako shark off the coast of Panama City Beach, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports.
Russell Robert Stewart III, 39, was charged with harvesting a 505-pound Mako shark after he allegedly harpooned it while on his commercial boat, the “Gag Reflex,” FWC reported.
FWC officers received an anonymous tip April 1 at about 3 p.m. that a video had just been posted to Facebook of someone harpooning a shark off of Panama City Beach. Officers waited at the Panama City pass until the “Gag Reflex” entered the pass with a large shark tail hanging over the port side of the vessel, officers said.
Officers stopped the boat to conduct a fishery inspection. Stewart told the officers he’d caught a Mako shark and that he’d “harpooned it,” FWC reported.
However, the harvest or attempted harvest of any shark in state waters is prohibited except by use of hook and line gear, according to state law.
FWC officers followed the vessel to Tarpon Docks Seafood where officers learned the shark was going to be commercially harvested, FWC said. Stewart also allegedly did not have a Federal Commercial Shark Harvest Permit on the vessel at the time.
Officers cited Stewart for attempting to harvest the shark by use of a harpoon and commercially harvesting a shark without a federal permit. The shark and harpoon were seized from the boat, officers reported.
Tarpon Dock said they would buy the Mako shark for $1.50 per pound, coming out to about $757. The funds were placed in an FWC escrow account, officers reported.
Stewart could not be reached for comment.
FWC declined to release the video, since the case remains under investigation.