7 News Belize

Fishermen Fight In Monkey River
posted (January 26, 2017)
Belizeans get emotional and "real touches" about anything related to Belize/Guatemalan relations. And in the south, anything which looks like Guatemalans illegally fishing in Belizean waters, well they pounce on that very quickly.

Well, at Monkey River Village, which is infamous for the massive soil erosion problem, a confrontation has been brewing for some time now, where the native fishermen are convinced that a group of unknown interlopers are illegally fishing in a managed access area. We've also heard simultaneous complaints from shark experts that there has been an alarming increase in shark fishing, which they are very concerned about.

About a week or two ago, the Monkey River fisherman planned a sting operation to catch these men, who they believe to be Guatemalans, in the act of illegal fishing. It appears that somehow the men got intel on this civilian operation, and on that day, they stayed away. Well, this morning, the time was ripe for a second attempt, and they invited our News team to tag along. Our news team set out from Belize City about 2:00 in the morning, and they got a chance to capture firsthand the conflict between the natives and the unknown elements out in those waters. Here's that story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Our news team set out before dawn from the Monkey River Pier, hoping to catch these fishermen in action, and after a 15 minute boat ride, we arrived at this mangrove island which the locals call "Rocky Point".

It's here that the fishermen say that Guatemalans, aided by Belizean operatives, have set up camp to fish illegally in Belizean waters. Now, if you follow their logic - which is based on intuition more than evidence - what is happening here is not illegal fishing.

Their notion is that there are Guatemalan fishers in Belizean waters who don't qualify for Belizean fishing licenses since they have neither residency not citizenship.

But according to the Monkey River Fisherfolk - they still got fishing licenses, depleting native fish stocks with unsustainable fishing practices.

Again we stress that at this point, there is absolutely no proof of this, it's just a gut feeling. And as soon as the fishermen at this camp spotted us, they became aggressive, immediately accusing Wil Maheia and the Monkey River boat driver of once again instigating a witch hunt.

Angry Fisherman
"What do you all want?"

"You know it's against the law to record without permission."

Wil Maheia
"We are in a public spot."

Angry Fisherman
"So then you can record anything you want."

Wil Maheia
"We are in a public spot, if we were in a private spot..."

Angry Fisherman
"Mr. Wil, what do you need, are you a fisheries officer?"

Wil Maheia
"I am a Belizean."

Angry Fisherman
"I am a Belizean too right. You have a right to be anywhere right? So as we. Fisheries Department just passed yesterday."

Wil Maheia
"And they saw all these net here?"

Angry Fisherman
"You ever heard about registered tag? You haven't heard about that right?"

Wil Maheia
"What do you mean we haven't heard about that? We've heard about that."

Angry Fisherman
"We have lots of work to do."

Boat Captain
"You can't be pushing off my boat. I didn't push off your boat."

So, our presence, as you can see, is very much unwanted, and tempers immediately start to flare up

Angry Fisherman
"Let me ask you one simple question: when you got your ID right..."

Wil Maheia
"We have a Guatemalan pushing out our boat here."

Angry Fisherman
"You don't have to speak creole to be a Belizean. When you take your nationality....."

"You think if we were Guatemalan, we would be here for the last 20 years? Common sense man. Fisheries just passed yesterday and find everything in order."

Wil Maheia
"All these manage access is not working, because you all shouldn't be here with manage access."

Angry Fisherman
"We are not in manage access area. Manage access is area 4."

Boat Captain
"Not even the Monkey River people have manage access."

Angry Fisherman
"When you go to Fisheries Department, they give us 2 zones to choose."

Wil Maheia
"This is zone 4 that you all are in. So this is manage access."

Angry Fisherman
"You ever take time to check the map?"

Wil Maheia
"Of course. This is zone 4."

Angry Fisherman
"The whole of Belize is zone off. You have option for 2 right. You pick which 2 you want. I picked 4 and 5. They picked 4 and 3. So what?"

Wil Maheia
"You just contradict yourself, because you can't be in different zones."

Angry Fisherman
"I picked zone 4 and 5. 4 ended up in Big Creek. You didn't read the colors?"

At that point, the conversation has already deteriorated, and these fishermen have no obligation to show us documentation to prove anything to us. But, as we're about to leave, the most outspoken member of the group - and also the only one who appeared fluent in creole - took another swipe at Maheia.

Angry Fisherman
"I am 100% fisherman. I am not 1-day or 2-day. I fishing year round. You understand me."

Wil Maheia
"But you have so many Guatemalans and all of those nets there."

Angry Fisherman
"If we were bloody Guatemalan, we wouldn't be here. Every year it's the same thing. You come with "Guatemalan, Guatemalan, Guatemalan." We are here for 20 years. When you get a nationality you are Belizean. You have full rights as anyone who was born here."

Wil Maheia
"Show us the nationality."

Angry Fisherman
"We don't have to show you anything. As a matter of fact you are not Fisheries Department. You are just a simple civilian just like me."

Wil Maheia
"That's why. Why are going on like that for?"

Angry Fisherman
"It's you. Every year you come tell one thing over and over. Why don't you tell the real deal?"

Wil Maheia
"Look at that net size right there."

Angry Fisherman
"That's three and a half. You know nothing about Fisheries Department law."

So, observing all we could, we left the men at their fishing camp, unable to make a determination either way of who is right, and who is wrong.

But, you can't change the minds of these native Monkey River fishermen. They are convinced that their waters are being plundered, and it is being done with the collusion of the elected officials, and/or the Fisheries Department.

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"These may be legitimate fishermen and they reacted very aggressively to your presence and they accused you of supposedly harassing them doing this year after year. Do they have any fear reason to say that you are just simply harassing them?"

Wil Maheia - Concerned Citizen
"Well year after year when we come there, there is 2 Belizeans there. None of the others like even spoke to us, speak in English. Year after year when we come there and the stuff gets aired on the news, then the enforcement agencies, they take shame, they come and they move (the fishermen) and then they come back again next year. But we know between November and beginning of lent, which is sometimes towards the end of February, that our waters get raped by the Guatemalans."

Daniel Castellanos - Monkey River Fisherman
"How do I know there guys are Guatemalans? I live here, I spent pretty much all my life right here and I know everyone from the surrounding areas and again, they probably yes do have a valid fishing license and a valid ID. How come they get it? I would like to find out how they got all that documents. They come and they go. Right here we could sit out right across here on the other side of Monkey River, we sit and watch these guys come across here going up there every single year you could watch these boats passed by and same way we watch them going back home."

So, while the Monkey River fishermen are convinced that these fishermen are Guatemalans illegally fishing in Belize, they have provided us with no proof to back up their claims. We've spoken with a senior Fisheries officer who tells us that as far as the Department is aware, these fishermen are part of a Punta Gorda family which owns a business in that town. The officer told us that these men have been granted licenses, and they were recently in the Department renewing their shark fishing licenses.

The officer added that the Department has strengthened its application process to make it difficult for non-Belizeans to get fishing licenses. Applicants are now required to present a valid social security card and a utility bill to show proof of residence. If they don't bring a social security card, they must bring nationality certificates, and a copy of their passport. The Department says it's trying to eliminate all foreigners who should not be entitled to a fishing license in Belize.

The fisheries officer told us that he and others have already accompanied Monkey River fishers to this same location to inspect these fishermen. He said that at that time, the men had all their documents are in order. They did have a fishing net which did not meet the legally allowed dimensions, and that was confiscated. The officer also told that traditionally, these people only go fishing in that area in certain months, while they're conducting their shark fishing.

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