Florida charter boat captain sentenced for poisoning, shooting dolphins

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A charter boat captain from Panama City has been sentenced for poisoning and shooting dolphins.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Florida says Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, was sentenced to 30 days’ imprisonment and must pay a $51,000 fine. This is for Barfield’s three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

Prosecutors say Barfield got frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of his charter fishing clients, so he placed a toxic pesticide inside baitfish to poison them. That toxin was methomyl, which is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency to control flies in nonresidential settings.