$1.4 million bond for man again accused of lobster violations

An accused lobster poacher arrested Saturday needs nearly $1.47 million to get out of jail on bond.

Jorge Vargas, 59, of Miami remains in jail in Marathon after Monroe County Judge Ruth Becker imposed the pricey bond -- about $5,500 for each of the 267 wrung lobster tails Vargas is accused of possessing on the water when he was arrested in the pre-dawn hours by Sheriff's Office Deputy Wilfredo Guerra.

Having wrung tails on the water is illegal.

Not helping Vargas' cause are prior arrests in the Florida Keys for illegally harvesting hundreds of lobster, and a warrant charging him with failing to appear in court to answer a 2011 arrest.

Vargas "has been arrested multiple times over the past few years on the same type of violations," said Becky Herrin, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

In October 2011, Vargas was booked after reportedly being found in possession of 274 undersized lobster about a half-mile from where he was arrested Saturday at the Fiesta Key Marina, near mile marker 70.

Guerra spotted Vargas aboard a white skiff off Long Key around 4 a.m., apparently pulling traps and separating lobster tails, according to a Sheriff's Office account of the Saturday case. Lobster must be brought to shore in whole condition.

"As the deputy watched, the man threw two bags full of wrung tails onto the shoreline from his boat, then returned to the bay where he continued pulling traps," the report says.

When Vargas returned to shore, he backed his pickup truck up to the dock; Guerra detained him and checked the catch. "Vargas was caught with 267 wrung tails. Of those, 246 were undersized," Herrin said.

Multiple charges include possessing undersized lobster, exceeding a recreational bag limit and possessing wrung tails on the water. Vargas is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 4.

In the 2011 case, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers charged Vargas with illegally harvesting 332 lobster, of which 274 were undersized. He also was charged with having nine stone-crab claws in a closed season. Officers stopped him after seeing him operating a small boat without lights at 2:30 a.m. off Long Key.

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 2:09 PM with the headline "$1.4 million bond for man again accused of lobster violations."