The US Coast Guard informed that its law enforcement crews detected and interdicted three Mexican lancha boat crews illegally fishing in federal waters off southern Texas, on Wednesday February 27.
Namely, US Coast Guard crews stopped three lanchas with a combined 13 Mexican fishermen conducting illegal fishing. Overall, 3,533 lbs of red snapper and 1,122 lbs of shark was on board the lanchas. The lancha boats, with fishing gear onboard, were also seized. The Mexican fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.
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US Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi has interdicted 16 lanchas north of the US-Mexico Maritime Border during February and 43 lanchas since October 1, 2018.
A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen that is about 20-30 feet long with a slender profile. It typically has one outboard motor and can travel at speeds exceeding 30 mph. Lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the US and fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the US-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.
