Oklahoma man jailed in Keys a reminder: It’s illegal to catch conchs in Florida

An Oklahoma man was booked into a Florida Keys jail after a Monroe County deputy found him in possession of six queen conchs on Thursday night, the sheriff’s office said.

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Harvesting queen conchs in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor, and a conviction could result in a 60-day jail sentence and a $500 fine.

According to the sheriff’s office, Deputy Luis Guiardinu, who works marine patrol, was at Sunshine Key Resort in Big Pine Key shortly before 6 p.m. when he saw Vu Xuan Dinh, 48, with the conchs. He then arrested Dinh, who is from Oklahoma City, sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt said.

Dinh remained in Monroe County’s main jail on Stock Island on Friday morning, according to corrections records. He was waiting for a judge to set bond. Information on his legal representation was not immediately available.

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Queen conchs live in spiral, sandy-colored shells with a bright pink or orange interior. They are found throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida banned the harvest of the species in the 1970s due to overfishing.

That said, conch meat is a staple at many Florida restaurants in either fritters or served whole and battered as “cracked conch.” But all of the conch on the menu is supposed to be imported from Caribbean nations.

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