Costa Maya, Q.R. — A boat found with traps, nets, live crabs and no fishing permit has been seized from Costa Maya waters. Personnel from the Navy of Mexico were on sea patrol near the southern border with Belize when they came across the vessel.
Navy personnel were on water patrol with the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca) and the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Natural Areas of the State of Quintana Roo (Ibanqroo) when they located boat La Más Terca.
Those on board were unable to produce the necessary fishing permits to be in the water with the gear and live catch. According to a statement by the Navy, federal officials from the Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (Conapesca) seized the gear and crabs.
On board La Más Terca they found 77 crab traps, an 80-meter-long multifilament nylon gill net and six live crabs. Their boat was also seized.
In their statement, they reported that the fishing surveillance is part of the inspection operations carried out by the troops of the Ministry of the Navy with the goal of enforcing laws in national seas.
They explained that illegal fishing represents a threat to the marine ecosystem and the local economy, which is why maritime and environmental authorities continue to work together to combat it.
The Secretary of the Navy reiterated that the precautionary detention of the vessel, the confiscation of the fishing equipment and the live specimens of crab send a clear message to the offenders.
“Illegal fishing will not be tolerated in the seas and coasts of Mexico,” the Secretary of the Navy reported.
