Aerial view of the midnight mischief at Jewfish Key.

This one’s not going away.

As the investigation proceeds into the midnight dredging and removal of seagrass beds and mangroves around Jewfish Key--a small island at the northern tip of Longboat Key in Sarasota Bay—investigator comments have made it clear that they expect the penalties—civil and criminal--for this environmental atrocity to go beyond just the usual cost of doing business.

Longboat Key Deputy Police Chief Martin Sharkey and Lt. Jim Ramer of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are leading the investigation into what Ramer described as one of the worst cases he’s seen in his 18-year career. When asked if fines are sufficient penance for environmental criminals, Ramey responded, “Not on my watch.”

More arrests are expected to follow the October charging of the dredgeboat operator. Investigators contend the operator—at the behest of Jewfish Key homeowners--worked under cover of darkness and bad weather to secretly dig navigation channels around the island, in the process destroying several acres of seagrass beds and mangrove shorelines.

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