Coast Guard makes illegal catch
Mexican crew believed fishing U.S. waters jumps ship
Mexican nationals caught illegally fishing in U.S. waters were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico Friday morning. The four men leapt or were thrown from their boat after crashing into a U.S. Coast Guard vessel.
Shortly after 6:40 a.m., Coast Guard officials patrolling the U.S. Exclusive Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border spotted a 25-foot vessel, Executive Officer Phil Jackson said.
As the Coast Guard approached, the boat headed south, toward Mexico.
“We tried to stop it,” Jackson said. “Eventually, it did stop, but it tried to cross our bow.”
Jackson said the boat, carrying four men, collided with the 33-foot Coast Guard boat before the men jumped or were thrown out. “Four people ended up in the water,” Jackson said. “We recovered the boat.”
No injuries were reported.
The boat’s occupants, names unknown, are being held at the South Padre Island Small Boats Station.
Jackson said the Coast Guard recovered a “good amount of fish on board” but did not specify how big the haul was.
“They were illegally fishing in U.S. waters,” he said.
Friday morning, he did not yet know if they would face criminal charges for the suspected poaching or illegal entry into U.S. territory.
