Police went ashore all over South Florida during Memorial Day’s long weekend. They were looking for safety breaches, dangers, disabled boaters, and anything that could hurt or kill people.
However, with a few exceptions, the seafarers were well-behaved and there were no serious boat accidents.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a Florida police agency, has the greatest presence on the water, has not been seriously injured, and has reported several ship fires on the Florida Keys River.
Relatively mild weekends are in contrast to the rising surge. Deadly boat crashes throughout the state The past year. In 2020, the number of incidents increased by 16% year-on-year to 113. According to a Fish and Wildlife report, 79 people died, 14 more on the water than in 2019. The majority of accidents (58%) occurred in 10 counties, with Monroe county first.
But even Keys was peaceful during Memorial Day.
“Overall, it was a very safe and enjoyable holiday weekend in the Florida Keys,” said FWC spokeswoman Bobby Dube.
Despite the island’s chain being full of tourists, the sea and Florida Bay were calm, many towing boats down.
Judy Hull, director of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, said Upper Keys was busy and business group accommodation members reported that all rooms were full.
“Most of the comments I heard over the weekend were about water. It seemed like more boats were underwater than ever before,” Hull said.
Over the weekend, hundreds of boats filled both the sea and bay sides of the archipelago. The sandbar off Windley Key was full of party attendees full of boats enjoying the hot climate and clear water.
“The sandbar looked like a small town,” Hull said, saying that the crowds on holidays heralded a busy summer.
Nick and Viviana Dikars of Coral Gables spent Sunday morning on a personal watercraft in the bay of Islamorada. Nick Dessert said the weekends were fun and relatively quiet, except for the noisy people at the sandbar.
“It was a little crazy at Sandbar. Some people were doing things they shouldn’t do,” he said.
Several boat accidents occurred in Miami-Dade County. I didn’t know the details right away.
FWC officials also issued several arrests and issued arrest warrants for fishing violations. Among them is one of the Hialeahs, who reportedly caught 14 unseasonable spiny lobsters until August, police said. Juan Alberto Reyes Ferrales, 43, was also arrested for harvesting 12 small lobsters. He couldn’t get any comments after issuing a $ 10,100 deposit on Tuesday.
Reyes Ferrales faces another misdemeanor of using a hook to catch lobster. It is illegal to catch spiny lobsters with devices that crack or puncture the shell.
FWC officials also arrested a Georgia woman on the following charges: I’m taking 5 queen snails From Wednesday in Key West. In Florida, it has been illegal to harvest queen snails since the 1970s. The female Daniela Arroyomon Dragon was released from prison later that day without paying bail.
Federal law enforcement agencies also on weekends Continuous increase in immigrant attempts And landed in South Florida.
Early Sunday morning, around 2:30 am, A group of Cuban people According to the US Border Guard, it landed on the shores of the small incorporated Middle Keys City of Key Colony Beach. Agents handle migrants and they are sent back to Cuba.
Later that morning, the US Coast Guard stopped a 15-foot boat about 9 miles off Islamorada. According to a Coast Guard spokesman, three men were trying to illegally move to the United States.