An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Press Release | April 23, 2025

Coast Guard detains 12 Mexican fishermen, seizes 1,400 pounds of illegally caught fish off Texas coast

Coast Guard PADET Texas - Office: (281) 464-4810 / After Hours: (832) 293-1293

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard interdicted and detained 12 Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing and seized approximately 1,400 pounds of fish in federal waters off southern Texas, Monday.

Coast Guard Cutter Alert, Coast Guard Cutter Jacob Poroo, Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi crews, in coordination with Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watch standers, detected and interdicted a total of 12 Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) in the Gulf of America.

After interdicting three lanchas, Coast Guard crews took the fishermen into custody, brought them ashore, and transferred them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for processing.  Coast Guard personnel also seized approximately 550 pounds of red snapper, 850 pounds of shark, along with fishing gear and equipment found on board the vessels. The lanchas were seized/towed back Station South Padre Island.

“The Coast Guard remains unwavering in our mission to protect and defend our nation’s maritime borders,” said Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Motoi, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard's Eighth District. “With highly trained teams aboard our cutters, boats, and aircraft, we will continue to aggressively target illegal fishing and the criminal networks it fuels. Our presence at sea is a critical line of defense for the nation’s sovereignty.”

A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen that is approximately 20-30 feet long, with a slender profile, one outboard motor, and capable of traveling at speeds exceeding 30 mph. Lanchas are frequently used to illegally fish in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of America. The illegal harvest and trade of red snapper and other fish species is often a revenue stream for criminal organizations. Apart from their use for illegal seafood harvesting in U.S. waters, lanchas may also used to move illicit drugs and aliens into the United States.

If you witness suspicious activity or illegal fishing in state waters (from land to 9 miles offshore), please contact “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.

For more information follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

- USCG -

The U.S. Department of Defense is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998. DoD websites use the WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility standard.

For persons with disabilities experiencing difficulties accessing content on a particular website, please use the form DoD Section 508 Form.  In this form, please indicate the nature of your accessibility issue/problem and your contact information so we can address your issue or question. If your issue involves log in access, password recovery, or other technical issues, contact the administrator for the website in question, or your local helpdesk.