7 News Belize

The Alternative To Traditional Fisheries
posted (May 28, 2013)
Several months ago, 7News presented you story with the pilot program in Placencia where the local fishermen were exploring alternative forms of livelihood.

They chose seaweed farming and brought the industry to Belize where they searched out a local market and found that it is a viable option to the slowly depleting fisheries. This weekend, we got a chance to see their seaweed farming facilities, the finished products, and we spoke to them about how the project has been progressing.

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Sidney Lopez Jr. - Chairman, PPCSL
"We went over to Glover's Reef - that's where we got the natural stock to start our pilot project beacuse it's over there in abundance with this group around 15 of us. We got the seed stock from Glover's and we took over ropes and planted the seed stocks on the rope. Then we brought them over to the main barrier reef over at Little Water Caye and Hatchette Caye where the two farms are located. This is how the process is - we plant it on the rope then we push it through and we break off a piece of seaweed and we put a little piece into the rope. We then have the nets that we sew to put over the rope - that is to protect it from when the weather gets rough."










It takes 3 months for the seaweed to be ready for harvesting. After that is done, the farmers then take the harvested product over to their drying campsites on Little Water Caye.



Sidney Lopez Jr.
"We take it to the island on Hatchette Caye then we dry it and this is how it looks when it is dried. So far we are only doing the drying process and the gel form. We soak it in water for an overnight and it turns into a gel. This is what most people use for the Seaweed shakes and for the food and smoothies."

So now that they've identified a local market, and perfected their techniques, the Placencia Producers Cooperative is looking to expand their operation. That's where the shrimp trawler, "Northern II", comes in.

This battered vessel might not look like much currently, but just as how the cooperative saw the potential in seaweed farming, they now envision that it can be used to protect their investment while they enter phase 2 of their project.

Sidney Lopez Jr.
"In the pilot project we saw that there were some stealing of seaweed so we needed to be out there 24-7 so we asked Oceana if we could have gotten the Shrimp trawler. So we have Seaweed locally for sale; we are not going into the international market as yet because we don't have enough production to that. We only have enought to supply locally and that's why we're going into the second phase to expand the farms so we could have enough to export."

And Oceana Belize has embraced them for their environmentally friendly innovation. They are also proud that the "Northern II" has been adopted into a program that fits nicely into their policy.








Audrey Matura Shepherd - VP, Oceana Belize
"For a change we saw a fishing group that understood the concept that when it comes to fishing it is not like farming. Farming you go and plant something and you extract it. Fishing is you just go and take out and out of nature and then you're not thinking 'if I'm taking out then how is it replenishing?' So for a long time environmental groups have tried to teach fishers that you can't just keep on taking out, you have to figure out how to take enough out and leave sufficient to restock."







Sidney Lopez Jr.
"The expansion project is in Gladden Spit and it's far from any island so the trawler is going to station for us so it can be out there 24-7."

According to Oceana, the estimated value of the vessel is $250,000; the Placencia Producers Cooperative Society bought it for just $1. This is in line with Oceana's policy to turn the trawler from a vessel used for the now-illegal bottom trawling, into something beneficial to the environment.

Viewers may remember that "Northern I" went to the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute in January of 2012, to be used as a marine research vessel.

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