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It's called managed access or catch shares where they would exercise domain over their traditional fishing area. The idea behind it is better management of rapidly dwindling fish-stocks, mainly conch and lobster. So fishers who have traditionally been using one area will be eligible for licenses that are now required to fish in that area. The effort was launched today in Belize City and we found out more from fishers and policy makers:…

Beverly Wade, Director of Fisheries
"In Belize we have an open access fishery which basically means free for all as long as you are a Belizean or you have a permanent residence you could fish any resource in Belize. You qualify for a license. What we have been saying over time is that this is not sustainable - so we have to now look at restricting access. So this program is looking at a way to restrict access and at the same time not marginalize and disadvantage those who have traditionally fish the resource for generations."

Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Fisheries
"We have protected areas where special licenses will be given to the traditional fishermen so that they can fish in these areas so as they can be custodians of this particular area."

Beverly Wade, Director of Fisheries
"So you now limited the number of people who could access the resource in these areas and what you've done is that you have ensured that you have not disadvantage those who are depending on it for their livelihoods."

Ana Martinez, Fisher - conch lobster and fish - Punta Gorda
"I like it but I want things to be straight, I want that if they say that no aliens can come on especially in the work then I will work along with it. I love the idea because for many years we take a hard packing with people from outside. We take care of our product and somebody just come and take it and so we feel if the government will help we need for them to push and we will support."

Beverly Wade, Director of Fisheries
"What we are saying is that we are keeping the status quo and so in a sense right now for argument sake if we have 100 fishers out there we are saying that we are keeping those 100 fishers. We are not going to allow any new people in."

Fisherman
"Fishermen will protect this area because they understand they will be benefitting from this area and so the if the fisherman realize that if they are benefitting from this project and it is like community base. Anything that is community base will have much more support."

Beverly Wade, Director of Fisheries
"Gone are the days, some scientist use to say that you could never fish out all the fishes in the sea. Its limitless but we learned overtime that that is not true and so what has happen Jules is that we've notice that over the last 10 years the number of fishers have increase and it will continue to increase as industries like sugar continue to be in problems, bananas, citrus, hard times on a whole people will look at what are their options and you now have to put measures in place to ensure that the impact for the need for employment does not mean the erosion of the fishing industry."

Fisherman
"We are not encouraging anybody to go into fishing because already are depleting drastically in PG. We need - before this program even began we have the jewfish that are critically endangered and that incline the nets, they like the nets. It encourage the Guatemalans to get a big price for it and so if we can't put that - we have to protect the jewfish and the snook because those fishes are critically endangered."

Jules Vasquez
"So fisherman or fisher person is no longer available post. No vacancies in that occupation?"

Beverly Wade, Director of Fisheries
"For some species, for lobster and conch that is what we are saying. The stocks cannot afford nor will it sustain the continued increase and effort."

Ana Martinez told us she has been fishing in more or less the same area since she was 7. Starting Monday applications for licenses will be accepted in Belize City at the Fisheries Department and then the following week in Punta Gorda Town.