By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell
US President Donald Trump has pardoned two divers from Florida who were convicted of theft in 2022 after freeing 19 sharks from fishing lines off the coast of Jupiter, Florida in 2020.
John Moore Jr, who was the captain of a shark-diving boat, and Tanner Mansell, one of his crew, freed the sharks and a goliath grouper in August 2020, believing they were part of an illegal longline fishing operation.
After freeing the fish, the two men reported their discovery to Florida State wildlife officials and brought the longline – which measured several miles in length – back to shore as evidence of their discovery.
According to social media posts made by passengers on the dive boat at the time, the crew had freed one great hammerhead, six tiger sharks, three lemon sharks, two nurse sharks, one Caribbean reef shark and one silky shark.
Unfortunately for the two men, the line belonged to a fisherman who was licensed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to legally catch the sharks for scientific research.
As a result, and despite having freely reported their actions to the authorities, they were charged with theft by the US attorney’s office and found guilty by a jury that reports say took longer to deliberate than the time spent in court.
Prosecutors said the two men and their team were fully aware that the longline was legal and chose to sabotage it because it was in the interests of their dive business to do so.
They were ordered to pay $3,343.72 to the longline’s owner, and although the men were not sent to jail, the record of the felony convictions prevents them from voting in Florida and travelling outside of the United States.
‘We never stopped fighting, and justice has finally prevailed,’ said Moore’s attorney, Marc Seitles, in a statement for the media.
‘We are thrilled the White House considered our arguments and determined this was an unjust prosecution. We could not be happier for John and Tanner.’
President Trump signed the pardon on 28 May, clearing the two men of their convictions.
‘This case never should have been filed,’ said Mansell’s attorney, Ian Goldstein. ‘These gentlemen made an honest mistake and were trying to save sharks from what they believed to be an illegal longline fishing setup.
‘I can’t think of two individuals more deserving of a Presidential Pardon.’
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