MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT, South Padre Island, Texas

South Padre Island, TX (1 Apr) - Petty Officer 3rd Class Damon Kizzar, Seaman Adam Walton and Seaman Apprentice Luke Pullen pull in an abandoned drift net located about a half-mile south of South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The smell causes even the hardened crew to be sick as they pull in the heavy net full of rotten fish. An unattended drift -net not only is a hazard to navigation, but it is also an indescrimanant killer. A drift- net will trap and kill fish, sharks and marine mammals until it becomes to heavy and sinks to the bottom. The stop to the killing is only temporary. Once the animals decay, the net rises to the top of the water and begins killing again. Removing the net is the only way to break the cycle of death. USCG photo by PA2 Keith Alholm.