Quintessential Miami Story: Shark found dumped on Overtown street

With sea-level rise, sharks will have the last word in Overtown.

Posted on Wed, Jul. 22, 2009
Shark found dumped on Overtown street

BY ROBERT SAMUELS
rsamuels@MiamiHerald.com

Wildlife investigators took to the streets of Overtown on Tuesday night after a six-foot brown shark was found in the middle of the street -- the product, according to witnesses, of a fishy scheme gone sour.

The shark was on Northwest Fifth Avenue near Fourth Street since at least 7 p.m., witnesses said, but police said they first received a call around 9 p.m.

"It was a relief that it was a shark," said Keith Smith, a local resident. "When I first saw it, I thought it was a body because of all the shootings that have been going on. I was surprised and happy because of my concern for human life."

Miami police couldn't immediately dispose of the shark. They first had to determine whether it was a protected Florida species, a classification that can bring serious charges to anyone who kills it without a license.

Officers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission determined the shark was a nurse shark -- a protected species. And as they prepared to take the shark away, a passerby told cops just how the shark got there.

Renato Martinez, 53, works at Garcia's, the fish wholesalers and restaurant on the Miami River. He said two men biked to the store, and offered to sell the shark for $10.

Absolutely not, the staff told the men. Those men must have dumped the shark in the middle of the street, Martinez concluded.

"I'm not crazy," Martinez said. "I know it's the same shark."

There were also earlier reports of men carrying "large fish'' on the Metromover, police said. Spokesman Willie Moreno said it was unclear whether the two incidents were related.

If the suspects are captured, wildlife officers said, they will likely face misdemeanor charges for improper killing and disposal of an animal, as well as a charge in connection with selling shark without a license.



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