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Hernando Today

FWC's Suspect Denies Any Fishy Business

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: December 19, 2008

HERNANDO BEACH - Michael Helmholtz considers himself an ambassador for marine life.

Flashy tropical fish, bug-eyed crustaceans, itty bitty snails - Helmholtz advocates for them all. A portion of his passion can be attributed to his livelihood as a wholesale dealer in the ocean's creatures.

But he's also worked closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to further conservation efforts. Helmholtz donated 46 sea horses to the University of Florida in 2006 for a study on their breeding habits.

So it was a bit of a shock when he found himself linked to a group of people accused of illegally capturing and selling marine life.

"It was a slap in the face, really," Helmholtz, 49, said Thursday in an interview at his shop on Shoal Line Boulevard, Above the Reef.

In October, FWC officials announced they had successfully wrapped up a six-month undercover operation with criminal charges for eight people.

The suspects are accused of raking in millions by selling contraband shrimp and fish around the world. Helmholtz, who distances himself from that group, was given a misdemeanor citation for a charge of purchasing saltwater products from an unlicensed dealer.
Helmholtz didn't want to go into specifics about his case because it's still pending in county court. But with 15 years now invested in the sea-life trade, he provides an interesting look into the business that keeps aquariums stocked around the globe.

As a wholesaler, Helmholtz doesn't explicitly invite the public into his shop to browse. There's no sign to advertise his location in a tiny shopping plaza that also hosts a hair salon and a pizza shop.

A little more than a dozen glass tanks brimming with all types of fish and invertebrates take up most of the space in the shop. Intricate charts of the waters off Citrus and Pinellas counties share space on the yellow walls with colorful posters of tropical fish.

Visitors quickly learn to speak up over the noisy hum of aerators.

Helmholtz, dressed Thursday in a blue button-down shirt patterned with swordfish and boats, a pair of jeans and a ball cap, got into the business more than a decade ago at the invitation of a shrimper.

That night on the boat, he watched the shrimpers sort through their catch and toss seahorses back into the water. Those have got to be worth something, he thought, so he grabbed a bucket and collected them. He was right.

At the time, he was a short-order cook at Hooters making minimum wage, and selling marine life proved to be a far more profitable venture. He acquired his licenses and set up shop. Today he dives for his own goods, sells them to himself and turns a profit distributing his fish wholesale.

Demand is usually highest from September through May, when folks up north are cooped inside by blizzards. This season, though, demand never picked back up after the summer. The economy is pinching business as consumers realize stocking an aquarium is a luxury.

"You don't eat tropical fish," he said.

The business is tightly regulated by the FWC and more changes have been proposed to further limit commercial catches by collectors like Helmholtz.

Many of those changes are actually proposed by the collectors who want to protect the habitats, said Lee Schlesinger, FWC spokesman.

The misdemeanor charge that Helmholtz faces carries a 15-day jail sentence and a minimal fine if convicted. But that's not what bothers him. It's his reputation that will suffer and, with it, his credibility in conservation issues.

"I'm part of the solution," he said. "But suddenly I've been lumped in with the bad guys."

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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