A US Coast Guard (USCG) vessel intercepted a commercial fishing boat carrying 45,000 pounds of shrimp in the southernmost tip of the US state of Florida, only to discover the boat's fishing permit had expired.
The USCG said in a press release that the intervention occurred near the Marquesas Keys, about 32 miles west of Key West.
Upon discovering the sizable quantity of pink shrimp aboard the boat and the lack of a valid fishing permit, the USCG instructed the crew to terminate their fishing expedition and return to a port in Alabama.
The vessel is returning to its homeport in Alabama, where National Marine Fisheries Service officers will meet with the captain for further questioning.
Details regarding the vessel's name remain undisclosed at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The US fisheries sector contributes more than $240 billion to the economy annually, with around 20% of species being overfished, the USCG said, citing data from NOAA Fisheries.
In 2022, 14.5 million lbs of pink shrimp were caught, worth $37m.
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