Keys Treasures Blog

Beaches at Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

Keys — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:39:43 +0000

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels I’d often driven by Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, but had never stopped. During a recent trip to Key West, determined to rectify that oversight, I carved out a couple of days on the end of my trip, [...]

Wanted: Fast stone-crab eaters in the Florida Keys

Keys — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:54:38 +0000

The much-anticipated opening of Florida’s stone crab season takes place Oct. 15 but the 2011-12 season opening is going to be followed by a tasty test of crab-consuming capacity. The inaugural Stone Crab Eating Contest, a challenge for amateur eaters, is set for Oct. 22 beginning at 1 p.m. at Keys Fisheries Market & Marina, [...]

Sombrero Beach Park, Marathon, Florida Keys

Keys — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:29:48 +0000

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels Sombrero Beach in Marathon, Florida, may be the quintessential example of a multi-use beach. Am I talking swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, picnicking, volleyball, barbecuing, and climbing on playground playground equipment? Well, all those things can be done at this beach, but that’s not what I was [...]

3 Lower Florida Keys Lobster Mobsters Arrested

Keys — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:19:25 +0000

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff alinhardt@keysnews.com Three Lower Keys men accused of poaching more than 100 undersized lobsters and out-of-season stone crab off Little Torch Key, including a commercial fisherman and his son, were charged by state wildlife officials Thursday. Benjamin Joseph White, 41, and his son, Christopher Joseph White, 18, both of Little Torch [...]

Smathers Beach in Key West Renourished

Keys — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:54:59 +0000

BY Les Neuhaus Citizen Staff Fifteen to 30 trucks a day bring in fresh veneer of sand. Smathers Beach is recapturing some of its former good looks with a massive infusion of silicon.Key West city officials say the makeover — “renourishment” in beach-speak — consists of a fresh new veneer of lily-white sand, and has been [...]

Key Largo Lobster Mobsters Sentenced to Jail Time

Keys — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:47:25 +0000

By DAVID GOODHUE dgoodhue@keysreporter.com Michael Cavagnaro, the former Key Largo elected official convicted of molesting lobster traps in June, was denied a new trial Friday and sentenced to nine months in county jail. His son, 33-year-old Michael Cavagnaro Jr., was sentenced to four months in jail. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia also sentenced [...]

Key West Captain Cited With Illegal Possession of 60 Stone Crab Claws

Keys — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:02:31 +0000

The state wildlife agency confiscated 60 out-of-season stone crab claws from a Key West boat coming home at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, says the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The commercial fisherman and captain of the Maru was cited with illegal possession of the claws and interference with an FWC officer, both misdemeanors. He [...]

Lobster Mobsters Get Early Start on Mini Season

Keys — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:47:10 +0000

By KEVIN WADLOW kwadlow@keynoter.com A Tampa man was charged Sunday with trying to get a three-day head start on lobster season in the Lower Keys. Leon A. Shabott, 46, faces misdemeanor conservation counts for taking 39 out-of-season lobster after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers found him scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico, [...]

Federal Quotas for Stone Crabs Ends

Keys — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:56:09 +0000

BY TIMOTHY O’HARA Citizen Staff tohara@keysnews.com Annual catch limits for commercially harvested fish have been a controversial issue bitterly opposed by local commercial fishermen. They soon will not have to worry about federally imposed quotas, however, for one popular species caught off the Florida Keys — stone crab. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission [...]

No Wake Zone Coming to Jewfish Creek in Key Largo

Keys — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:16:26 +0000

New no-wake zone OK’d The state on Wednesday approved a new boating safety zone in Monroe County, whose commissioners must support it via a resolution to be enacted. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said the proposed slow-speed, minimum-wake zone is adjacent to the U.S. 1 bridge over Jewfish Creek, extending 300 feet [...]