Fish, stingrays dumped behind bait and tackle store

OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) — A local bait and tackle shop says they are fed up with fish and marine animals being dumped behind their store.

The general manager of Emerald Coast Bait & Tackle in Okaloosa County posted on social media after the last round of dumping.

Three dead stingrays and a massive black drum are rotting away on the rocks behind their store, connected to the Choctawhatchee Bay.

The manager said this has been an off-and-on problem for more than a year.

While he hopes to find the person or people responsible and hold them accountable, he wants to spread a bigger message of sustainability going into the busy fishing season.

“It’s important to take care of these fish because there are breeders, you know, this black drum down here is again 40lbs is probably laying hundreds and thousands of eggs, you know, every year,” Isaiah Lopez, general manager said. “Morally it’s just the right thing to do. Don’t take what you’re not going to keep or eat or use.”

FWC officers on the wildlife hotline said this type of dumping is illegal. Both in the species being left to rot on the rocks and the willful waste of the animals.

If you see anyone dumping animals, call the hotline at 888-404-3922.

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