A total of 20 Mexican fishermen were arrested Sunday and Tuesday of this week by U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement crews out of Corpus Christi.
The fishermen made up four lancha boat crews that were fishing illegally in federal waters near South Texas. Along with the four lancha boats, Coast Guard crews seized 100 red snapper and fishing gear from the boat crews.
The Mexican fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.
“Our crews do amazing work in some very hard conditions ensuring this devastating illegal poaching by Mexican lancha crews does not go unchallenged,” said Capt. Tony Hahn, Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi commanding officer. “The Coast Guard will continue to challenge and interdict all the detrimental poaching on our waters to stem the critical depletion of our scarce fishery stocks.”
Coast Guard officials explain that a lancha is a Mexican fishing boat, about 20-30 feet long with a slender profile, that is typically used with one outboard motor. The boats can travel at speeds exceeding 30 mph and are frequently used to transport illegal drugs to the U.S. and to fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S./Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since October of 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard's Corpus Christi station has detected 78 lanchas north of the U.S.-Mexico border, and interdicted 28 of them.
Coast Guard officials ask that anyone who witnesses suspicious activity or illegal fishing in state waters out to nine miles offshore, 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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