El Jalapeño: Ensenada fisherman says latest catch, a US Navy torpedo, is ‘a keeper’
An Ensenada fisherman trolling for dorado reeled in a 600-pound U.S. Navy training torpedo instead, and is refusing to give it back. The post El Jalapeño: Ensenada fisherman says latest catch, a US Navy torpedo, is ‘a keeper’ appeared first on Mexico News Daily
In Ensenada, Baja California, a local fisherman named Tomás Aguilar, 58, has defiantly refused three requests for the return of a US Navy torpedo he caught last week. The 9-foot, 600-pound MK 54 practice torpedo was initially mistaken for a large dorado fish, 20 nautical miles southwest of Ensenada. Aguilar has kept the torpedo tethered to his dock, protected with a blue tarp, and told visiting Navy officials he intends to keep it.
Despite offers ranging from US $500 to US $45,000, including additional perks, Aguilar insists the torpedo is now his based on international maritime traditions. The impasse has drawn attention from defense officials, who have offered a standard finders' fee, a Navy cap, and now a refurbished commercial panga boat and salvage indemnity.
Aguilar remains unmoved, citing the torpedo's painted nose cone as an ideal centerpiece for his niece's quinceañera.
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