Two South Florida shark divers who were convicted for cutting sharks and a goliath grouper free from what they believed was an illegal fishing longline expressed gratitude to President Donald Trump for granting them a pardon. 

“Whether people believe in his politics or not, he chose to pardon me — somebody who deeply cares for the environment and only ever wanted to help,” Tanner Mansell said in a text after his pardon, per USA Today. “I can’t help but feel extremely grateful.”

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In 2020, John Moore Jr. and Mansell were running a tourist shark-diving charter when they came across the line, freed 19 sharks and the grouper from its hooks, and brought the line to shore. The two Palm Beach County men said they believed the setup was an illegal shark fishing line and called in state wildlife officers to report the longline off the Jupiter Inlet. 

Mansell and Moore said they thought they were thwarting a crime, not committing one. However, the longline was an authorized commercial setup, leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office to charge the men with theft. A jury found Moore and Mansell guilty in 2022, although the two men avoided a prison sentence.

The long line belonged to just one of five vessels worldwide authorized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to harvest sandbar sharks for research. 

The gear alone cost vessel owner Scott Taylor about $1,300 while the value of the sharks amounted to several thousand more, according to the Palm Beach Post. A Florida judge ordered Moore and Mansell to pay Taylor $3,345 in damages and serve one year of probation. 

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Trump’s May 28 pardon means that the two men will no longer be categorized as felons, allowing them to vote, own firearms, and freely travel overseas. 

“This case never should have been filed,” Mansell’s attorney, Ian Goldstein, said in a statement to the Associated Press. “These gentlemen made an honest mistake and were trying to save sharks from what they believed to be an illegal longline fishing setup. I can’t think of two individuals more deserving of a Presidential Pardon.”