KEY WEST, Fla. – A protected species was on a Key West man’s menu Friday, landing him in jail on a felony charge, state wildlife officers said Tuesday.
Burley David Smith turned 67 two days before he decided to “catch, cook and eat two queen conch” at a campsite on Wisteria Island, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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The agency said a vigilant witness called FWC to report the illegal catch. After officers arrived on the island, an “argumentative” Smith refused to cooperate, according to FWC.
“He admitted the queen conch shells were at his campsite but would not show them the location,” an agency spokesperson said. “The witness who observed Smith harvesting the endangered species and another witness who called in the incident directed the officers to Smith’s campsite. The two empty queen conch shells were there as he described next to a pot and a fire.”
Authorities then placed Smith under arrest.
An FWC guide describing “Florida’s Spectacular Sea Snail” states that the mollusc, “(l)ong harvested for its tasty meat and beautiful shell,” is now protected from harvest “and efforts are being directed toward replenishing native populations.”
Smith remained held in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Key West jail facility Tuesday on charges of killing an endangered or threatened species, a felony, plus misdemeanor counts of obstruction without violence and harvesting queen conch.
A judge gave him a $21,500 bond.