10 Senators Ask NOAA to Protect U.S. Red Snapper Fishery From Poachers

Senators from all of the U.S. Gulf Coast states have called for more support from the federal government to deter Mexican illegal fishing operators, who routinely cross the maritime boundary to poach fish in U.S. waters. The catch is often sold across the border into U.S. markets, and 10 senators have called for more enforcement targeting these imports in order to remove the market incentive for illegal fishing.

Sen. John Kennedy, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and eight other senators are calling on NOAA to do more to keep out illegally-caught red snapper from the U.S. market. While they lauded the Coast Guard's efforts to suppress illegal fishing incursions on the water, they suggested that more stringent enforcement measures are needed downstream in the supply chain. According to the Department of the Homeland Security's Inspector General, the USCG only catches about one out of five illegal-fishing lanchas detected in the Gulf, and the remainder are able to conduct unlicensed longline operations and depart unhindered. The Coast Guard accumulates piles of confiscated lanchas, but the Mexican fishermen keep replacing their boats and coming back.

According to the Treasury, these operators have links to Mexico's dangerous Gulf Cartel, and the sale of the fish provides revenue for organized crime. In addition to illegal fishing, the same lanchas are often used for moving drugs and migrants across the border into the U.S., the Coast Guard says.

"The continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea alone is insufficient," the senators wrote in a public letter. "[NOAA should] use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner."

The objective, the senators said, should be to preserve the value of the red snapper fishery for American fishermen, both commercial and recreational.

The U.S. Coast Guard routinely interdicts Mexican lanchas in the Gulf, often in high-speed chases. The fish and boats are confiscated, and the perpetrators are deported. In FY2025, the Coast Guard interdicted 47 Mexican fishing boats in U.S. territorial waters, primarily in the Gulf. To ensure interdiction capacity, the service is upgrading its nearest station to the border - the South Padre Island outpost - at a cost of $200 million.