A Naples man was arrested Wednesday evening at his home after a warrant was issued via a Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC) investigation into overfishing. Theodore Kostopoulos was taken into custody after he allegedly skipped court from his October 2023 citation.
"Captains are responsible for knowing all the regulations, the size limits, the limit of fish you can keep. All of it's to protect our fishery, to protect the amount of fish we have in the wild, the reproduction and the future fisheries in the area," said Captain Kyle Fisher, of ReelSaltyCharters.
Kostopoulos was reported in the area of Doctor's Pass on October 20, 2023, by another fisherman who suspected the Naples man was overfishing and ignoring the size requirements of redfish, trout, and snook, according to FWC. An investigation revealed Kostopoulos had 12 fish in total over the bag limit, as well as 13 that were undersized.
"A lot of recreational guys don't go out there and look this stuff up beforehand, or they get confused on sizes based on the region other end, because everything varies region to region. It happens a lot," added Fisher.
Fishing licenses are required for saltwater and freshwater fishing in Florida. Each individual species' size limits and capacity requirements are listed on the FWC website here.
"I think it's very important that people realize that you're not a hooligan of the sea. When you go out fishing rights, you have rules to follow, and it's important to follow the rules. The rules and those rules are established by biologists. Right? It's not like it's coming out of thin air. We're doing modeling," said Dr. Serge Thomas, an aquatic ecologist at Florida Gulf Coast University's Water School.