ISLAMORADA, Fla. – An Oklahoma man turned himself in to Monroe County deputies Friday after they say he was caught on camera forcing his arm down the throat of a tarpon at an Islamorada marina a few months ago.
Video posted to social media shows a tourist in the Florida Keys, who Florida Fish and Wildlife officers identified as 37-year-old Nathan Wayne Williams, grabbing a tarpon from the water and putting his arm in its gills. In just seconds, the large fish was seen flopping and bleeding before being released.
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“It ended up tearing the gills of the fish, caused a lot of damage to the fish and ultimately harmed it,” said Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Trey Evans.
The video was posted in October and shows the crowd of spectators watching at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada, a popular spot where guests are allowed to purchase bait and hand-feed the tarpon from the dock.
“Horrible. Despicable. Robbie’s does not condone any of that,” said Billy Williams, Robbie’s marina director.
Monroe County prosecutors had issued a warrant for Nathan Williams arrest and jail records show that he turned himself into authorities at the Plantation Key Detention Center on Friday night.
“Resource cases are vitally important to the Keys,’ Evans said. “We have so many people here who make their living on these fish, on these wildlife, so we take them very seriously.”
According to the warrant, Williams has a following on social media and YouTube, where videos show him grabbing catfish in a similar fashion known as “noodling.” Noodling is a way to catch catfish with bare hands.
According to FWC, a person cannot harvest or unnecessary destroy a tarpon, or remove a tarpon larger than 40 inches from the water except for the purpose of submitting it for a record.
Williams reportedly told FWC officer Chris Mattson he “didn’t mean to rip the gills” and he “admitted he used bad judgment.”
“When you come down here you need to know the laws,” Evans said. “We’re going to make sure everybody follows them no matter who you are.”
Williams faces six misdemeanor charges including harvesting or unnecessarily destroying tarpon, and not having proper permission to fish for tarpon, his jail records show.
Local 10 News has made contact with Nathan Williams who said he may consider speaking at some point about the incident.