TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – A Panama City fisherman has been sentenced to 30 days in prison and is ordered to pay a $51,000 fine after being convicted of poisoning dolphins with pesticides and shooting with a firearm.
The National Marine Fisheries Agency (NOAA) law enforcement has launched an investigation into Zachary Brandon Barfield, 31, who was found to violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the federal insecticide, fungicide and Rodeventom Suicide Act.
“The defendant’s selfish conduct is more than illegally shooting and killing animals that are poisoned and protected. It causes serious crimes against public resources, threats against local ecosystems, and catastrophic harm with dedicated law enforcement partners.
According to a release from DOJ, Barfield is the captain of Panama City’s licensed charter and commercial fishing, and has been around throughout his adult life.
The court’s filings and statements revealed that between 2022 and 2023, Barfield poisoned and shot the Bottlenorth Dolphin on multiple occasions.
The investigation revealed that in the summer of 2022, Barfield was frustrated by dolphins eating red snappers from a charter fishing client’s line. He then began to place Metomir in his baitfish to poison the dolphins.
Metomyl is a highly toxic pesticide that affects the nervous system and is limited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to the DOJ, Barfield recognized the toxicity and environmental impact of pesticides, but continued to feed on dolphins with poisonous fish.
While captaining two separate fishing trips in December 2022 and summer 2023, Barfield witnessed a dolphin eating snappers again from his client’s fishing line. He then used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot the dolphins closest to the boat, killing one of them soon.
These incidents were supported by two elementary school students and dozens of fishermen who witnessed the shooting on boats.
“Barfield has been a long-standing charter and was a commercial fishing captain,” said Adam Gustafson, Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, but he killed them anyway – once before the child. This sentence shows our commitment to enforce the rule of law.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act prevents the murder or harm of wild dolphins and is punished with a civil prison penalty of up to $36,498 or a year.
