ATLANTA — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the convictions of a Jupiter boat captain and his crewmate.
Capt. John Moore, who owned a shark-seeing boat charter out of the Jupiter Inlet, and Tanner Mansell were convicted in 2022 of stealing fishing gear in federal waters.
In August 2020, they two freed 12 sharks from what they thought was an illegal fishing line harming the fish just off the Jupiter Inlet.
However, it was actually a commercial fisherman's operation that had a federal permit to use the line for shark research.
Moore and Mansell were sentenced to probation last year, avoiding prison time.
The Palm Beach County men were appealing the conviction to remove it from their record but were unsuccessful.
Read the court's full decision below:
