A man is wanted by authorities in Florida after he was caught on camera removing an endangered fish from a fishing store's aquarium before leaving the aquarium as the animal struggled in its net.
Video obtained by several American media outlets shows the man, who has not been identified, quietly leaving the store with the fish.
Local authorities are taking the matter seriously because the aquatic animal is actually an Atlantic tarpon (or Megalops atlanticus), a protected species in the United States.
Store employees couldn't believe their ears when customers told them what had happened.
“It never even occurred to me that someone would stoop so low to catch a federally protected fish and potentially put it in danger,” explains one of them, Chance Floyd.
Even private customers find it difficult to believe that such an event could have happened.
“I don't understand how people have the audacity to do something so selfish,” said Christy Downey, a customer at Bass Pro Shops, where the theft occurred.
“I think he's wrong because he probably didn't have an aquarium, so there's a good chance the fish died,” added another customer, Josslyn Downey.
Officials with the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife are working with local police in Lee County to locate the man who committed the crimes.