Earlier in the news, we showed you the Reef Score Card which the local conservationists launched to assess the Belize Government on how it is managing the World Heritage Sites. Well, at that same forum, it gave them the opportunity to offer their position on illegal fishing and the use of gillnets.
Now, recently, you've seen a lot of that illegal fishing from the Guatemalan fisherfolk who go into Belizean territorial Waters north of the Sarstoon.
Whenever we take trips to the River, we always encounter them fishing well inside Belizean waters, but at this time, nothing is being done to stop them.
But, those Guatemalan fishermen make use of gillnets, which are dangerous to other marine animals which they don't intend to catch.
A few weeks ago, we showed you a humpback whale which died in the sea in front of Barranco Village. It was trapped in gillnets for weeks before it finally couldn't fight anymore. Oceana Belize has been consulting the different groups in the south, and there appears to be a consensus, the Government should consider banning gillnet fishing in Belize.
Today, Roberto Potto of the Healthy Reef Initiative, and Janelle Chanona, Vice-President of Oceana Belize, shared their thoughts on the topic of gillnets and illegal fishing which happens:
As viewers are aware, illegal fishing is a problem all over the country, not only in the Sarstoon area.
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