The Florida Keys fisherman who found the bale of cocaine called the Coast Guard. Credit: USCG via Flickr/Public Domain

The Florida Keys fisherman who found the bale of cocaine called the Coast Guard. Credit: USCG via Flickr/Public Domain
An Islamorada, Florida fisherman reeled in the once-common but increasingly rare square grouper Saturday morning. (Although historically  square grouper refers to bales of marijuana, let's consider this Florida Keys catch the "Mangrove Square Grouper.")

The fisherman didn't technically catch the bale, according to the Associated Press — the tide pushed the bale of cocaine under a dock. Reportedly, the fisherman — looks like authorities haven't released his name, which we're thinking is a good thing because, well, did anyone else see any of the '80s movies about drugs in South Florida? — pulled it out, cut into the package, found cocaine and called the Coast Guard.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says it turned the bale — which contained 25 smaller plastic bags of cocaine — over to the feds.

We'd like to think if the bale had washed up in Tampa Bay, the issue would have been not drugs, but the use of plastic.

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This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.

Cathy's portfolio includes pieces for Visit Florida, USA Today and regional and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving...