CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (KTRK) -- Dozens of dead sharks were found in a net off the south Texas Gulf coast Tuesday.
The Coast Guard says at around 2pm, an air crew on routine patrol saw floating fishing gear about 20 miles off the coast of South Padre Island.
A patrol boat was sent to investigate, and discovered one mile of abandoned gill net with 65 sharks caught. All of them were badly decomposed.
"Illegal drift gill nets with very small mesh are referred to as 'the wall of death.'" said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Brand with U.S. Coast Guard. "These nets are so effective at catching and killing fish that their use is illegal in both federal and state waters in the Gulf of Mexico and highly regulated by fishing management.
The Coast Guard suspects the netting was placed by Mexican fishermen illegally poaching in U.S. waters.