TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida fishing captain who shot and poisoned dolphins, killing an unknown number of the species, will spend 30 days in prison and pay a $51,000 fine, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced Friday.

In 2023, NOAA Fisheries received a tip that a fisherman was killing bottlenose dolphins. The tip prompted a two-year investigation coordinated by NOAA Fisheries with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Beginning in the summer of 2022, prosecutors say Zackery Brandon Barfield, 31, of Panama City, grew frustrated with bottlenose dolphins eating red snapper from his fishing lines and began putting methomyl inside baitfish to poison them. Methomyl is a highly toxic pesticide that acts on an animal’s nervous system and is banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The subject’s actions were intentional and heartless, and we’ll continue to pursue any harmful acts against marine mammals,” said Paige Casey, acting assistant director of the NOAA OLE Southeast Division. “Egregious crimes such as in this case have serious consequences.”

Barfield had been a licensed charter and commercial fishing captain in the Panama City area for more than a decade.

While in charge of fishing trips from December 2022 to the summer of 2023, officials said Barfield’s actions against dolphins became increasingly violent.

Prosecutors say Barfield noticed dolphins eating snapper from his fishing lines and used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at dolphins surfacing near his boat. He killed at least one immediately.

Investigators later uncovered a shotgun and a container of methomyl in Barfield’s possession.

“The defendant’s selfish acts are more than illegally poisoning and shooting protected animals – they are serious crimes against public resources, threats to the local ecosystem, and a devastating harm to a highly intelligent and charismatic species,” said acting United States Attorney Michelle Spaven.

NOAA Fisheries’ investigation revealed that Barfield shot at least five dolphins, with one confirmed dead, and fed at least 24 to 70 dolphins poisoned baitfish on trips he captained, officials said.

One time, Barfield shot a dolphin in the presence of two elementary-aged children, prosecutors said. Another time, he shot a dolphin while more than a dozen fishermen were on board.

“Barfield was a longtime charter and commercial fishing captain,” said Adam Gustafson, a federal environmental prosecutor. “He knew the regulations protecting dolphins, yet he killed them anyway — once in front of children. This sentence demonstrates our commitment to enforcing the rule of law. It should deter others from engaging in such conduct.”

Barfield was convicted of three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. His 30-day prison sentence will be followed by a one-year term of supervised release.