Fisherman who pled guilty to cruel act on fish is sentenced
A man who used a power saw to cut off the nose of a live smalltooth sawfish and later pled guilty to it has learned his fate from the (...)
A fisherman who used a power saw to cut off the nose of a live smalltooth sawfish and later pled guilty of killing the endangered species has learned his fate in court.
Chad Ponce, 38, of Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and two years probation, and fined $2,000 for the cruel act, which was confirmed by a joint investigation by NOAA Fisheries and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Fisheries revealed Thursday.
Ponce, who initially denied any wrongdoing, had faced up to a year in federal prison and a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty in November. A judge sentenced him on Dec. 19, but it only became public a couple days ago.
The St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office and FWC received a tip reporting the capture and gross mishandling of a large (12-14 foot) smalltooth sawfish off the coast of Ponte Vedra, Florida, on July 18, 2018. The sawfish was incidentally caught in one of Ponce’s commercial shrimp trawl nets earlier that day.
Upon retrieval of the net, Ponce, captain of the Triton II, first attempted to use a hacksaw on the rostrum, but witnesses report he tossed that saw into the ocean when it didn’t work. Ponce then used a power saw to cut the rostrum off the live animal. Another fisherman in a vessel adjacent to the trawler witnessed the incident and reported it to FWC’s Report Sawfish for Science Hotline.
Ponce then tossed the smalltooth sawfish back into the ocean.
Photo of the smalltooth sawfish showing injury associated with recent rostrum removal in the Florida Keys. Photo: NOAA Fisheries
NOAA and FWC immediately opened an investigation, and FWC sent an officer offshore to the location of the Triton II on the day of the report. DNA evidence connecting Ponce to the crime was gathered during the investigation.
The rostrum of the sawfish is used to locate and disable its prey, and is believed to also carry sensory cells that assist in it orienting itself to time and location. The smalltooth sawfish cannot survive without its rostrum.
Also on FTW Outdoors: Hunter acts fast when charged by mountain lion
“The smalltooth sawfish is one of five sawfish species worldwide and the only one still found in U.S. waters,” NOAA Fisheries stated. “All five species of sawfishes are in danger of extinction and listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, as well as some international authorities.”
Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, Getty Images and NOAA Fisheries, in that order.