Four Mexican fishers caught harvesting red snapper in U.S. waters have pled guilty to violating the Lacey Act, an American law that prohibits the trafficking of illegally harvested fish.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, Miguel Angel Ramirez-Vidal, 32, Jesus David Luna-Marquez, 20, Jesus Roberto Morales-Amador, 27, and Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza, 22, were caught illegally harvesting red snapper in the U.S.'s exclusive economic zone on 16 April. The crew left from Playa Bagdad, Mexico, at night, traversing into U.S. waters in a 25-foot fishing vessel not running lights. The fishers set out 4 miles of longline roughly 18 miles north of the Maritime Boundary Line.
When the U.S. Coast Guard apprehended the fishers, they had already caught 693 pounds of red snapper and four sharks. The government claims the catch had a retail value of USD 9,000 (EUR 7,776) if returned to Mexico.
The four fishers were indicted by a grand jury in Texas in May, and in pleading guilty, the four fishers admitted to knowingly transporting 315 kilograms of illegally taken red snapper. The crew faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of USD 250,000 (EUR 223,669) for the charges, which reflect a new policy by the U.S. government.
“The arrest and prosecution of Mexican commercial fisherman marks a change in policy concerning the protection of U.S. marine resources,” the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas stated. “In past instances, authorities would seize the catch and destroy the vessel but release violators back to Mexico. Any commercial fisherman now apprehended in U.S. waters caught violating the Lacey Act face potential fines and imprisonment.”
To emphasize that point, the attorney’s office noted that the captain of the fishing expedition, Ramirez-Vidal, had been arrested for illegal fishing 28 times before the U.S. government pressed charges.
“The others also have similar previous arrests,” the government said.
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the apprehension of more than 50 Mexican fishers illegally operating in U.S. waters so far this year, although these are the only four indictments announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas to date.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has also moved to crack down on Mexican fishers illegally operating in U.S. waters; last year, it sanctioned five Mexican individuals allegedly overseeing fishing operations for the Gulf Cartel of Mexico.
