The United States Coast Guard boat crews board six Mexican fishing vessels, detaining 26 fishermen and seizing 1,300 pounds of illegally caught red snapper and shark off the southern Texas coast in early February.
Boat crews from Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, Texas, and the Coast Guard cutter Jacob Poroo, coordinating with Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews, located and stopped the Mexican fishermen while they were engaged in illegal fishing north of the U.S.-Mexico Maritime Boundary Line, according to Coast Guard officials.
After interdicting the six lanchas, Coast Guard personnel seized 1,300 pounds of red snapper and shark, along with fishing gear and high flyers on board the vessels. Coast Guard crews detained the Mexican fishermen, brought them ashore, and transferred the detainees to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for further processing.
Lanchas used by Mexican fishermen are typically 20-30 feet long with a narrow beam and slender profile, powered by single outboard motors and capable of speed over 30 mph.
They boats are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the U.S. and illegally fish in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the border.