Tourist gets jail time for collecting seashells in Florida Keys
KEY WEST, Fla. — A Texas woman has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for taking 40 queen conchs in the Florida Keys.
The Miami Herald reports that 30-year-old Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez was sentenced last week after pleading no contest to taking the mollusks. She must also pay a $500 fine plus $268 for court costs. The judge withheld adjudication, meaning she won’t have a criminal conviction on her record.
A Florida wildlife officer arrested the Dallas woman last July outside a Key West home, where she had the state-protected animals in three plastic containers. The officer photographed the conchs and returned them to the ocean. Most were still alive.
Fiscal-Gonzalez said she was taking the conchs for gifts and didn’t realize it was illegal.
She must report the Monroe County jail Aug. 10.
