Caught in a tuna pen with armed Mexican Federales looming

[Sean B]

Chech this out - pretty interesting story:

The owner of a San Diego-based sportfishing boat found himself in the middle of what he calls a “Mexican standoff” with federal authorities July 19 in international waters 30 miles off Ensenada, Mexico.

The incident began at approximately 3:30 a.m. when the 48-foot Viking Señor Hefe collided with a floating tuna pen under tow approximately 30 miles off Ensenada. Floating pens are used in aqua farming to help grow young tuna, among other species, for market......Read the rest here

[jspiezio]

federales scare the hell out of me

[Kingfish]

I know the Capt. of Senor Hefe, they are on "B" dock I'm on "A" dock in Mission Bay.

He was not running the boat that trip, the owner was.

It was a pretty knarly situation to say the least!

[randall]

ive donated heavily to the federale widows and orphans fund. rule one....NEVER let it go past the first guy.

[Sean B]

Yeah but what do you do when they six of them show up in a boat with guns in hand - throw a bag of money at them?

The US Coast Guard downplayed the threat of the mexicans in their official report. I wonder which account is true, and what would have been different had the CG helicopter not shown up.

Luckily for us around here, the only foreign navy we have to content with is the Bahamian Navy... which is just some guys in a skiff diving for conch and lobster

[randall]

if the CG didnt show up they would have tried to impound the boat hoping for the payoff before reaching port...SOP.

[Sean B]

Was it here that I read that there are three kinds of problems an American can have in Mexico: a $10 problem, a $20 problem, and a $50 problem?

[Harv]

I thought this was posted here a while ago. They requested permission from the seiner and even caught school tuna while they were trapped in the pen

[Kingfish]

Harv your correct.

They caught Mexican limits of 5 BFT a piece.

[Bruce]

I would believe a 20 year experienced fisherman with CG experience to boot as to the intended threat level over an official government agencies account.

I'd much rather have the 10,20 or 50 problem in Mexico than get some official in the US after me under false accusations and after a long and very expensive court battle, may win.

[Sean B]

Both fine points.

I too know what it is like to be a victim of the US civil courts... where you can get sued for nothing and then are guilty until proven innocent (and then at best, declared innocent but broke).

I suspect that the USCG didn't like the details of the moves they made with the helicopter pasted all over a magazine article - and tried to smooth things over by saying that none of that happened, and that the Mexicans acted within their rights.

A good story though. I hadn't realized it was posted here before.

[Bruce]

The only difference between the public official corruption in both countries is one it costs much more in the US to grease the wheels and two its done in secret. Or at least tried to.

Life is so much easier when the rules are out in the open and are simple.

[mike ohlstein]

Harv your correct.

They caught Mexican limits of 5 BFT a piece.

I seem to recall reading that Americans are bound by American Highly Migratory Species regulations worldwide.

Other than espionage, it's the only American law that I know of that extends beyond our borders. Perhaps the lawyers can chime in......

[Kingfish]

I noticed that the slip Senor Hefe had been in has been empty for over a week.

Hailed my buddy on "B" dock to get some info. Thought he might be on the hard for repairs as they hadn't been done yet.

Nope!! Senor Hefe had been repo'd!

[Rawleigh]

No wonder he was ready to scuttle her!

[Sean B]

Hmmm. Could that have been the plan all along? That would make for one hell of a story for the insurance adjuster, and I doubt those guys running the tuna pens are well loved by the local fishermen