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Trump pardons Florida divers who freed 19 sharks from federal fishing line

Published  June 20, 2025 8:11pm EDT
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando
FOX 35 Deep Dive: The Science of Sharks

FOX 35 Deep Dive: The Science of Sharks

FOX 35's Marie Edinger investigates the science of sharks one week after a 10-foot great white shark was pinged off the coast near Brevard County. New Smyrna Beach is known as the Shark Attack Capital of The World, and Marie Edinger joins FOX 35's Garrett Wymer to break down why that is the case.

The Brief

    • Two Florida shark divers convicted of theft for releasing sharks from a NOAA research line have been pardoned by President Trump.
    • The men claimed they believed the longline was illegal and reported the incident to wildlife officials.
    • Their attorneys said the convictions were unjust and praised the pardons as a long-overdue correction.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Two Florida shark divers convicted of theft for releasing sharks from a NOAA research line have been pardoned by President Trump.

What we know:

Two South Florida shark divers, John Moore Jr. and Tanner Mansell, have received full presidential pardons from Donald Trump after being convicted in 2022 of theft for cutting a federally licensed longline and releasing 19 sharks and a giant grouper off Jupiter Inlet in 2020. While they avoided prison, their felony convictions had barred them from voting, owning firearms, and traveling freely abroad.

The backstory:

The divers, working a shark-diving charter, came across a longline about three miles offshore and believed it was illegal. Acting on that belief, they freed the animals, reported the incident to state wildlife officials, and brought the line ashore. Unbeknownst to them, the line was part of a NOAA-licensed research operation. Federal prosecutors charged them with theft, and a jury convicted them. Their appeals were unsuccessful.

What we don't know:

Officials have not publicly explained why the longline’s research designation was not more clearly marked or why leniency wasn’t considered during trial given the divers' intent. The identity of the researcher or institution behind the fishing line has also not been disclosed.

Big picture view:

The case has drawn national attention from conservationists and legal observers who saw the conviction as overly punitive, particularly in light of the divers’ intent to protect marine life. The pardons reflect a broader conversation about environmental enforcement, prosecutorial discretion, and how intent is weighed in federal maritime cases.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Associated Press.

 

FloridaCrime and Public Safety