A Mexican lancha boat sits moored at U.S. Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, Texas, after being seized by Coast Guard law enforcement crews June 25, 2018. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Station South Padre Island
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted two Mexican lancha boat crews illegally fishing in federal waters off southern Texas, Monday.
Coast Guard crews stopped two lanchas with a total of eight Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing. Both lancha boats, with fishing gear onboard, were seized. The Mexican fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.
A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen that is approximately 20-30 feet long with a slender profile, typically has one outboard motor, and is capable of traveling at speeds exceeding 30 mph. Lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the U.S. and fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.
Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi has detected 177 lanchas, 52 of which were interdicted, that were north of the U.S.-Mexico Maritime Border since Oct. 1, 2017.
If you witness suspicious activity or illegal fishing in state waters (out to 9 miles offshore), please 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 361-939-0450.
