The United States Coast Guard intercepted a fishing vessel Saturday it claimed operated illegally in federal waters off the coast of Texas.
USCG law enforcement personnel based at the Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi seized the boat and its gear and handed over four Mexican fishermen onboard to federal border enforcement authorities for processing, according to a Coast Guard news release.
According to federal law, the waters in the Gulf of Mexico up to 200 miles off the Texas coastline serve as an exclusive economic zone for the United States.
Saturday’s seizure is just the latest incident in what both Texas and federal officials see as an ongoing trend. At the Corpus Christi station alone, 144 lanchas – slender fishing boats up to 30-feet in length coming from Mexico – have been identified since last October. In all, 31 have been intercepted.
In many instances, officials discovered hundreds of red snapper on the vessels.
“The persistent illegal fishing of red snapper and other fish in the Gulf of Mexico is having a very detrimental economic and environmental impact,” said Commander Keith Pierre, chief of response at Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi. “We will continue to enforce the law along the U.S./Mexico maritime boundary line.”
In a statement regarding another illegal seafood investigation earlier this year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Law Enforcement Director Colonel Craig Hunter noted those participating in illegal fishing excursions do not follow “restrictions and rules governing the possession, safe handling and sale of commercial aquatic products intended for human consumption.”
Texas officials maintain jurisdiction for up to nine miles off the state’s coastline.
