WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump recently pardoned two Florida men who were convicted in 2022 after freeing 19 sharks in 2020 off the Jupiter Inlet.
John Moore Jr., a charter boat captain, and Tanner Mansell, a charter boat crew member, reported they had freed the lemon sharks and a large grouper to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Records show Moore, of West Palm Beach, and Mansell, of Jupiter, assumed there was an illegal fishing operation, but it turned out the fisherman had a special National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration license.
The sharks and the grouper were meant for research, according to prosecutors. Moore and Mansell were convicted of theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction.
In 2023, a federal judge sentenced them to one year’s probation and 50 hours of community service. The judge also ordered them to pay a $1,000 fine and $3,343.72 in restitution.
The men had lost their appeals. Trump issued the executive grants of clemency on Wednesday.