Every year, Belizean consumers wait patiently for conch season to arrive, and so do the fishermen. While the majority of the men and women who make their living through fishing respect the conch season, some try to get an illegal head start. Last Friday, the day before the season started, the Fisheries Department and Coast Guard confiscated 455 individual conchs from three fishermen near the Lighthouse Reef. We spoke with Supervisor of the Conservation and Compliance Unit about this practice of pinching conch before the season starts.
Hampton Gamboa - Conservation and Compliance Unit Supervisor, Fisheries Department
"Joint patrol between the Belize Audubon Society, out at lighthouse reef, Fisheries department and the BZ Coast Guard, vetted this catch, came across this catch, about 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock there about, at lighthouse reef on the 30th of September. The day before, conch opened. So, officers were engaged in a patrol. Myself, Shane Young and Mr. Castillo from the Belize Coast Guard. We were just doing a routine patrol and fishers were engaged in the extraction of conchs before the opening of the season. And what happened, upon the fishers seeing us, they basically tried to throw away the product from the boat. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve these products. At present, after coming across the three fishers who had these product, the final tally came up to 455 individual conchs, which all three persons will be charged for."
The catch of conch is estimated to be worth around BZ$13,000.
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