Coast Guard interdicts lancha crews illegally fishing US waters

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 8th District Public Affairs Detachment Texas Contact: Ensign Kenneth Hawkins  After Hours: (361) 438-0176  PA Detachment Texas online newsroom

Coast Guard interdicts lancha crews illegally fishing US waters

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted two Mexican lancha boat crews engaged in illegal fishing in federal waters off southern Texas Saturday morning and Sunday night.

Coast Guard crews stopped two lanchas with a total of seven Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing. Two lancha boats, including fishing gear, and 1,680 pounds of red snapper, grouper, pufferfish, shark and eel were seized. The Mexican fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.

A lancha is a Mexican fishing boat that is approximately 20-30 feet long with a slender profile, typically has one outboard motor, and is capable of traveling at speeds exceeding 30 mph. Lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the U.S. and fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.

Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi has detected 83 lanchas, 30 of which were interdicted, that were north of the U.S.-Mexico Maritime Border since October 2017.

If you witness suspicious activity or illegal fishing in state waters (out to 9 miles offshore), please contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s “Operation Game Thief” at 1-800-792-GAME (4263). For all suspicious activity or illegal fishing occurring in federal waters (out to 200 miles offshore), please contact the U.S. Coast Guard at 361-939-6393.

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