The fishing charter captain shot at dolphins with a 12 gauge and poisoned them with insecticide. Photo: Unsplash
A fishing charter captain from Florida was sentenced to a month in prison, a year of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $51,000 fine after shooting and poisoning bottlenose dolphins.
According to NBC News, Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, was frustrated that dolphins were eating his clients’ catch, so he decided to feed them poisoned bait and fire his gun at them in front of clients. According to prosecutors, Barfield shot at at least five dolphins and killed one, as well as using poisoned bait on dozens of occasions occurring in 2022 and 2023.
“In the summer of 2022, Barfield grew frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of his charter fishing clients,” reads a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida. “He began placing methomyl inside baitfish to poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.”
Methomyl is an insecticide “used to control foliage and soil-borne insect pests on a variety of food and feed crops.”
“Methomyl is a highly toxic pesticide that acts on the nervous system of humans, mammals, and other animals, and is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control flies in non-residential settings,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office explained. “Barfield recognized methomyl’s toxicity and impact on the environment but continued to feed poisoned baitfish to the dolphins for months.”
An investigation into Barfield’s actions was launched in 2023 when a NOAA Fisheries employee received a tip about what he was doing. “Barfield fed an estimated 24–70 dolphins poison-laden baitfish on charter trips that he captained,” NOAA Fisheries explained.
Barfield used a 12-gauge Remington Wingmaster shotgun to shoot the dolphins, which was seized after Barfield pleaded guilty. In one case, Barfield shot at dolphins while a pair of children were on board. In others, he opened fire with more than a dozen fishermen aboard the vessel he captained.
“While captaining fishing trips in December 2022 and the summer of 2023, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from his client’s fishing lines,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office explained continued. “On both occasions, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot the dolphins that surfaced near his vessel, killing one immediately. On other occasions, Barfield shot, but did not immediately kill, dolphins near his vessel. On one trip he shot a dolphin while two elementary-aged children were on board, and another with more than a dozen fisherman on board.”
Barfield reached an agreement to plead guilty to two counts of illegal taking of a marine mammal and one count of federally prohibited use of a pesticide, and although he was sentenced to 30 days for each of the three counts, his sentences will be served concurrently.
