Highly Coveted Catch in the Florida Keys Isn't a Fish. It's Cocaine.

Cocaine washed ashore in the Florida Keys appears to be surfacing with increasing regularity, according to a federal case and local law enforcement comments. During summer operations, lobster divers recovered a drug “brick” off Big Pine Key, about 30 miles northeast of Key West. Authorities noted the bricks—often nicknamed “square grouper” after their local reputation—can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. A boat captain couldn’t find sheriff’s deputies and left one brick on a fire-rescue ambulance. Prosecutors also highlighted John Strama, 44, a longtime boat builder, who used knowledge of tides and currents to target floating cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years.