Save the Tarpon

06/11/2024

Guess what’s back in the pass??

03/01/2019

As Wenzel appeared in front of Judge Mark Wolfe, he appeared to be smiling. While announcing the plea deal, Judge Wolfe asked him, "is there something funny about this?"

One of the Tampa Bay area men accused of dragging a shark in a viral video that sparked outrage across the country has pleaded guilty.

07/09/2018

Anyone else see a problem here?

06/26/2018

"A group of local guides formed a nonprofit, Save the Tarpon, that called out tournament officials and sponsors. A costly and contentious legal battle ensued between Save the Tarpon and Silver King Entertainment LLC, which hosted Professional Tarpon Tournament Series, but the Boca Grande fishermen prevailed."

Gasparilla Island and its village of Boca Grande have long been a secret playground, where some of America’s wealthiest and most well-known families seek privacy, a laid-back vibe and some of the best tarpon fishing in the world.

12/13/2017

Arrests made in shark dragging case
After a four-month long investigation, three individuals have been arrested in connection to the video of a shark being dragged behind a boat at high speed. We worked with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office to identify a number of criminal violations, including felony and misdemeanor charges. Full story: http://bit.ly/2z4TdOu

The suspects and their charges are as follows:

Michael Wenzel (D.O.B. 6/7/1996) of Palmetto, Florida:
-Two felony counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty (Third-degree felony)
-One misdemeanor count of Illegal Method of Take (Second-degree misdemeanor)

Robert Lee Benac (D.O.B. 4/2/1989) of Bradenton, Florida:
-Two felony counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty (Third-degree felony)
-One misdemeanor count of Illegal Method of Take (Second-degree misdemeanor)

Spencer Heintz (D.O.B. 10/14/1994) of Palmetto, Florida:
-Two felony counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty (Third-degree felony)

FWC graphic using screenshot of viral videoc

09/06/2017

"...in 2004 a televised competition called The Professional Tarpon Tournament Series (PTTS) started up in Boca Grande Pass. Technically it was catch-and-release. In reality it was snag with huge, heavily-weighted hooks, gaff, drag to shore, photograph, hoist, weigh, release, and feed the sharks which, like the media and public, congregated for the event. Boats were gunwale to gunwale, contestants cheek to jowl."

Can fishing tournaments treat the tarpon, a fish nobody eats, with the respect it deserves?

08/10/2017

While the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to largely evade questions about its role in the case (if any), the Office of State Attorney has come forward with information concerning the progress of its own investigation.

The State Attorney’s Office in Manatee County has confirmed that it is investigating the shark dragging video that went viral last month and sparked widespread outrage online.

08/08/2017

UPDATED: According to The Anna Maria Islander (8/8/17), Assistant State Attorney Andrew Van Sickle confirms his office is pursuing the case. "The more we dig, it seems like the more crimes — at least fishing violations — we uncover,” he told the newspaper. Van Sickle said a decision to proceed is expected to be made by the Office of State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit in mid-August. The newspaper quoted Van Sickle as saying the investigation is comparable to "pulling a thread" that keeps unraveling. We will keep you posted as this develops.

Shark-drag investigation uncovers other violations by Kathy Prucnell for islander.org | August 8, 2017 79SHARESFacebookTwitterSubscribe A photo of Michael Wenzel on the Save the Tarpon page depicts the apparent mishandling of the fish, which can be hooked, but tarpon exceeding 40 inches mus...

08/08/2017

Sooo... Who wants to volunteer to watch the show tonight? 🙈🙈🙈 hitting the sponsors will have to be our next step. We know news casts are reporting on the videos, we know MTV pretends they can't hear us, but we also know from experience that targeting sponsors works (because we rock! 💪). This is a list we have from the first episode courtesy of a Twitter follower (if there are any missing please put them the comments). I'm thinking we see if any have chosen not to advertise during this episode and then we can start hitting them.

08/06/2017

08/04/2017

The petition has reached 61,379 names. We don't arrest people based on the number of folks who sign an online petition. But we also don't duck arresting them based on who their daddy is. Or do we? Stop by and sign the thing. Can't hurt. And considering the FWC's pace on this thing ...

Arrest Men Who Tortured Shark Behind Their Boat