3,000 Pounds Of Illegally-Fished Shark, Red Snapper Seized In Texas Waters

The U.S. Coast Guard seized three Mexican lancha boats illegally fishing in Texas waters this week.

A total of 14 fisherman were stopped on the three boats in federal waters off the coast of southern Texas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. On board the boats were about 440 pounds of shark and 2,425 pounds of red snapper, plus fishing gear, radios, GPS devices and high flyers. The fishermen were detained and will be transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.

The bust was made by Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, the Coast Guard Cutter Edgar Culbertson crew, the Coast Guard Sector and Air Station Corpus Christi.

"Working collaboratively with our federal, state and local partners, we continue to detect and deter illegal fishing occurring in the U. S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Successfully protecting our limited marine resources requires a whole-of-government approach, and these successful cases illustrate our commitment to that effort," said Coast Guard District 8 Chief of Response Captain Kristi Luttrell.