7 News Belize

The Sport Fishing Controversy Heats Up
posted (March 16, 2010)

For the past 11 months, the issue of what’s called catch and release or sport fishing legislation ahs been a stone in the shoe of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It started in April of last year when an award was given to the two men who had crafted “Catch & Release Legislation passed for the protection of bonefish, permit, and tarpon in Belize.” A solid commendation, except that no such legislation had been passed – though fishing websites worldwide were praising Belize for this major advance in marine conservation, when really, it only existed in draft form.

After that, the draft Statutory Instrument went through countless consultations and revisions repeatedly re-emerging as un-satisfactory. Finally on September 14th, of last year, statutory instrument 115 came into force – and since then it has been widely criticized for being sloppily worded, lacking in its provisions, misdirected and burdensome to fisher-folk. So last week, the coastal zone management authority and institute came forward and stated that SI 115 would be re-done to include critical exemptions and clarifications.

Jim McFadzean found out more about the proposed changes today and how it will ease those who make their living off Belize’s seas.

Jim McFadzean Reporting,
Historically, many Belizeans have earned their living from fishing in Belize’s abundant waters. Then there are recreational fishers who have participated in annual Marlin fishing tournaments. The most recent effort by the Coastal Zone Management Authority, to regulate a prime group of fish species, however, has a group of Tour Operators from the fishing village of San Pedro up in arms.

Vincent Gillett, CEO – CZMA
“When the legislation was written, it was not discriminatory. For example it says that every person, meaning everybody who wants to engage in sports fishing activity, must have a license, everybody; man, woman, and child – visitor and non-visitor. And it phrased no person should engage in sports fishing unless he is the holder of a sports fishing license and it must be in the form that is prescribed by the legislation. That puts particularly the fishing tour guides in a little bit of quandary.”

In an interview with the San Pedro Sun, the President of the San Pedro Tour Guide Operators voiced his group’s displeasure with the legislation saying new taxes are not the answer because they will make an already expensive destination even more prohibitively priced. But according to Mike Singh, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, the fuss might be “much ado about nothing.”

Jim McFadzean,
“As you know there has been some reaction from the San Pedro Tour Guide Association as it relates to these new licenses that they will now have to pay for and how it will affect their own industry. How concerned are you about this opposition?”

Michael Singh, CEO, Ministry of Tourism
“The outcry because your local fisherman, you want to take your son out for a fishing trip or traditional way where you go out and you drop a line off a dock or you go off a little boat in the channel and it was felt by many that that would be a little bit too restrictive for locals. So Cabinet looked at it and the Coastal Zone Agency made a recommendation for exemptions of certain individuals, Belizeans in particular people over 60 and people under 16 and tour guides.”

Statutory Instrument 114 seeks to regulate and protect the fishing of a certain group of fishes known to be targeted in the Recreational Fishing Industry, three species in particular though top the lists, the Tarpon, Bonefish, and Permit.

Vincent Gillett,
“The fisheries legislation said for permits, tarpons, and bonefish, those are going to be called sport fish. In addition to which they also set out a list of other fish species which they will also call sport fish, like for example your marlin, your Atlantic sailfish, your fat snook and those other kinds of fish species that sport fishermen or as we call them anglers tend to go after. Those fish species are separate and different and apart from those that are targeted by our commercial fishermen. So we are we making a distinction between commercial fish species and sport fish.

The three species, sports fish, not only do you have to have a license, you cannot have it in your possession. You must catch them and release them, only three fish species there. Now remember that is not going to stop the ordinary Belizean who wants to throw a line and go out and catch a snapper or whatever the case may be or subsistence operators. That is a livelihood that will not be endangered.”

According to Singh, the Cabinet is looking at taking the exemptions one step further by exempting all Belizeans, but some things still remain unclear for the avid Belizean sports fisherman, since the Statutory Instrument to protect the 3 species is a separate Statutory Instrument from the license fee.

Michael Singh,
“It doesn’t matter if you have a license or not, to catch those species they would still have to be released. So whether or not you will be able to angle for them as a Belizean, that is something that is a little bit unclear but if you are allowed to angle and whether you have a license or not, you will still have to release them. Nobody will be allowed to catch those three species and take them in an icebox or sell them commercially.”

It is an overwhelming increase in the interests in Belizean waters by Sportfishers, worldwide, that has caused Government agencies such as the Fisheries Department and the CZML and other stakeholders to institute new laws governing those who seek to indulge in sportsfishing in Belize. They say enforceable regulations must be put in place to ensure sustainable practice amongst anglers…reporting for Seven News, I’m Jim McFadzean.

Singh says that the proposed formula for the funds generated from the sports fishing licenses is that they will be shared between the Fisheries Department and the CZMAI in an 80 to 20 split, with the larger portion going to the Fisheries Department. The monies would be used for the conservation of bonefish, tarpon and permit.

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