The Coast Guard seized around 19,000 lbs. of shrimp from a boat fishing in a restricted area, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
The shrimp was seizned Sunday around 13 miles south of Belle Pass. The area is closed due to the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The Coast Guard said it received an alert that the boat "Little Andrew'' was fishing in the restricted area and dispatched a response boat from the
Grand Isle station. Coast Guard members boarded the "Little Andrew'' for an inspection and found 19,000 lbs. of white shrimp on board. The Coast Guard said the shrimp "was returned to the sea.''
"NOAA has implemented a federal fisheries closure to ensure public safety by preventing any fish or shellfish from being harvested in the waters affected by the Deepwater Horizon MC252 incident," said Lt. Bryan Harrell, a law enforcement duty officer for the Eighth Coast Guard District.
The master of the Little Andrew, who was not named in the news release, was issued a written warning, the Coast Guard said.