A Texas woman has been sentenced to 15 days in the Monroe County Detention Center following her plea to possessing 40 queen conchs.

Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez, 30, of Dallas pleaded no contest July 13 before Monroe County Judge Mark Wilson, who agreed to withhold adjudication. Assistant State Attorney Marisa Rose Faraldo Tedesco represented the state.

Queen conchs are mollusks that can live up to 40 years. Due to their declining population, their harvest was made illegal in Florida in 1985.

In addition to jail (she received credit for one day of time served), Fiscal-Gonzalez will serve six months of probation and pay a $500 fine, $268 in court costs and $50 for the cost of prosecution. She also must pay $40 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the cost of its investigation and complete an FWC course in marine conservation.

Through her attorney, Fiscal-Gonzalez had asked that she not be given jail time. She also personally apologized, saying she didn’t know that it is illegal to take queen conch.

Fiscal-Gonzalez must report to court on Aug. 10 to begin her jail sentence.

FWC Officer John Martino arrested Fiscal-Gonzalez on July 13, 2017, at 1216 Watson Street in Key West after someone called the agency to report that Fiscal-Gonzalez possessed the conch. When he got to the house, Martino wrote in his report, he saw “a female in plain view with three plastic containers and a water hose” in the driveway. The conchs were in the containers.

“The defendant told me she planned to clean the conch shells and distribute them as gifts,” he wrote. “The queen conch were harvested by several minor children” and Fiscal-Gonzalez.

Martino collected the conch and photographed them, then, after arresting Fiscal-Gonzalez, returned the conch to the water.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]