Coast Guard seizes 200 pounds of illegally caught fish

Coast Guard craft interdicted a lancha crew and seized 200 pounds of illegally caught fish Monday in federal waters off southern Texas.

Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received notification from a Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrew of a lancha engaged in illegal fishing approximately nine miles north of the Maritime Boundary Line.

A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 33-foot Special Purpose Craft–Law Enforcement crew launched to intercept the vessel.

The boat crew arrived on scene and seized the lancha with high flyers, GPS devices, radios, fishing gear and 200 pounds of red snapper on board. The Coast Guard crews detained the four Mexican fishermen and transferred them to Customs and Border Protection agents for processing.

Anyone witnessing suspicious activity or illegal fishing out to 200 miles offshore is urged to contact the U.S. Coast Guard at 361-939-0450.