Boarded by US Coastguard (again)...did they cross the line?

Rewind 5 weeks ago....
I was captaining my boss' boat. It was my wife, 5yr old son, and another couple.
We were under power outside the midway just showing our friends around, doing maybe 5mph in the bay, and were stopped and boarded by the US Coastguard.
We showed registration, my driver's license, and necessary safety equipment. Process took maybe 15 minutes...not bothered really at all. Whatever.
He handed me a yellow slip, referred to him as the "Golden Ticket" and said if this vessel is stopped anytime in the next 12 months, just show the "Golden Ticket" and you'll be on your way, no boarding.

Now, today.....
I get picked up at the Coronado dock in front of Peohe's by my buddy who decided to take a group of his employees, as well as his pastor and pastor's father in law, out on the bay for a couple hours to site see and fish. A couple of them have rods, but he wants me there to bring some gear and put them on any fish. I give him a very stern warning to make sure these guys get a one day fishing license.

We shoot out towards the bait barge. 10 people total on a large, nice deck/bay boat with a 14 person capacity.
We stop, and about 5 or 6 drop some lines in, and within 5 minutes a very large US CoastGuard vessel does a 180* turn, heads for us, and then comes on the loud speaker "USCG, Maintain position, we will be sending a small vessel to board yours."

Great.

I quickly tell my buddy/captain what items they will be asking for and that this typically takes 20 minutes or so.
About 30 minutes later a small rib boat is coming towards loaded with four armed and helmeted coastguard members.
The stop seemed fairly routine and quick as they went through the list I expected. I felt like it was coming to an end as nothing notable had been discovered, all safety items had been presented perfectly.

The lead guy, a 7 year vet of the USCG, then asks if we have flares on board.
My buddy does, and presents them, to which USCG says they are expired.
I politely ask if they are even needed inside the bay, to which he informs me "no, only if you go outside the bay".
Than WTF are we doing I wonder..... and I start to realize they are now absolutely looking for anything they can do to ticket and waste our time.

Next?....."I need to see everyone's fishing licenses". Hmm, Ive only been told DGF requires these, but we hand over 7 or 8 licenses...just the guys who were fishing. He inspects each intensely. I mention "I thought only DFG checks this, no?" Im ignored.
"what is your target species today?"....for real? The coast guard wants to know what type of fish we hope to catch in SD bay? Keep in mind this was not casual conversation with some guy just making small talk, this question came from the large boat, and he radio'd back our response "they are saying spotted bay bass, sand bass, and halibut".


Next?... "I need a driver's license or photo id from all 10 of you".
You've got to be kidding me. 10 driver's licenses are provided and handed over. They pass these off to the rib boat and now we are basically at a stand still, occasionally being asked to motor closer to the large USCG boat as we are drifting.
I even asked the lead guy why this was necessary...his response, "we do it at every stop". BS....Im proof you dont.
Im not sure how long this exact part took but I'll say at least 40 more minutes. One by one, calling in each ID....
While this is going on, they decide to question the captain more and more....even digging around a little and checking serial numbers of the motor and calling them in.

Shocking, they find nothing. Almost saddened by the result, they hop off and away they go.
Us? Well, after almost an hour and half of not fishing, we have to head in as we only had 2 hours.
People are pissed, Im confused, and several of them wasted money on licenses they didnt even use.


Here the kicker Im going to not-so-sensitively imply:

The first boarding happened to 5 white people.
The second happened with 7 hispanic males.
The digging for something, ludicrous questioning, IDs, checks, fishing licenses, etc.....it reeks of discrimination, and Im not one to play the race card, as Im a 34 yr old white male who has never seen first hand this up close.

Im all for protecting our borders, all for the sacrifice our service men/women make daily, have numerous active duty friends, some deployed just last week....I mean no disrespect by this post or my implications, but come on.

It just felt super slimy the whole time. Thoughts?

 

Interesting. I guess I see one role of them officially being "environmental protection" which Id still consider a stretch.

And I even call BS with your search... you guys were below deck, no rods in hand, and they demand to see licenses? What if you didnt have it?