Coast Guard Detains Mexican Vessel Fishing Boat
Coast Guard Detains Mexican Vessel Fishing Boat
Friday, March 23, 2007
Seven tons of shark and 1,000 lbs. of shark fins were found aboard.
SAN DIEGO (LNS) - The Coast Guard boarded and detained a Mexican fishing vessel March 11 for alleged illegal fishing in U.S. waters.
The vessel was spotted towing several miles of longline fishing gear 11 miles inside the 200-mile-wide U.S. Exclusive Eco-nomic Zone, officials said.
El Vencedor was escorted to Coast Guard headquarters in San Diego after a five-member team from the San Diego-based Coast Guard cutter Sea Otter boarded the 60-ft. vessel and confirmed numerous sharks and bags of shark fins on board.
The vessel with her captain and five-man crew - all Mexican citizens - were detained, but not arrested, National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service spokesman Mark Oswell said.
The catch aboard El Vencedor included 7 tons of mako and blue sharks plus 1,000 pounds of shark fins, Oswell said.
Oswell said March 14 that three members of the crew had already been turned over to immigration officials for repatriation to Mexico and that the remaining three were expected to be turned over to immigration officials later that day and returned to Mexico.
The shark meat will be sold and the proceeds will be put into an escrow account until the case is settled in court, Oswell said.
El Vencedor, which is based in Ensenada, will be detained until the ongoing investigation by NOAA is settled.
The crew violated the Mag-nuson-Stevens Fishery Conser-vation and Management Act, which prohibits fishing without a permit by foreign nationals in U.S. waters, Oswell said.
A report from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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