U. S. Coast Guard
December 19, 2003
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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -- Eight people were apprehended by the U. S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for illegally fishing in U.S. waters north of the U.S.-Mexico
border Thursday.
The eight Mexican nationals, Ignacio Martinez Higarera, 29, Angel San Juan Villeras, 17, Carlos Sacramento, 26, Jorge Narciso Sosa-Dia, 23, Miguel Maldonado, 28, Nicolas Masaba, 44, and Leo Bardo
Hernandez, 21, were turned over to the CBP.
During a routine patrol Thursday afternoon the crew of a Coast Guard Falcon Jet from Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, spotted nine lancha boats fishing illegally in the U. S. exclusive economic
zone. Coast Guard Station South Padre Island dispatched two boat crews to intercept the lanchas. Most fled into Mexican waters, but one lancha with a crew of two was caught when the boat stopped
just north of the border. Its nets contained two sharks, 86 red snapper and ten other assored fish. A second lancha with a crew of three was intercepted after cutting its nets and attempting to flee,
on board it had nine sharks.
A third lancha was spotted Thursday evening by crew the of a Coast Guard Falcon Jet from Air Station Corpus Christi, the boat was illegally fishing half a mile north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The
Coast Guard patrol boat Steelhead from Port Aransas, Texas, intercepted the lancha. It was actively fishing when caught and its gill nets stretch north for more than two miles. In the nets were
five sharks, two tuna and several other assorted fish.
The crews of the lanchas were turned over to CBP and the lanchas were taken to Coast Guard Station Sought Padre Island.
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