7 News Belize

Monkey River Villagers Did A Sting On Guate. Fishermen
posted (February 15, 2018)

Keeping it on territorial issues, very early this morning, about 30 residents of Monkey River Village went on a sort of sting operation to Rocky Point, a well-known fishing stop in the waters just north of the village. The residents claim that it is a camp for Guatemalan fishermen, who, they say, have been engaging in illegal gill net fishing.

Our colleagues from PGTV spoke with some of the outraged fishermen about what they saw:

The fishermen say they found a dozen barrels of fish and more than 10 sacks of what they believe is contraband salt. These Monkey River fishermen do concede that most of the fishermen at this location had proper fishing documents. They say they found 20 gillnets, but there were only licensed for 12, and most of the gill nets had to tags.

In tandem with this, the Ministry of Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development announced today that it will commission a Taskforce to recommend measures to minimize the harmful effects of gill net use on marine creatures.

Gill nets are good at catching fish, but the problem is that they are too good, and they often ensnare and kill all marine life caught up in the net.

The use of gill nets is regulated by the Fisheries Department, but the problem is that it opens to door for illegal fishers who overfish whenever they can get away with it. 

As you just saw, in the South, the fisherfolks there know all to well the chronic problem of illegal fishing with the use of gill nets.

The Government's press release says that the task force will consider the uses of gill nets in Belize, including the option of a total ban.



BEL Linesmen Back to BVI

In November 2017 we told you about a team of linemen from Belize Electricity Limited that went up to Dominica and the British Virgin Islands. They assisted the countries with power restoration after the devastating hurricanes.

On Monday the company deployed a third team back to the Virgin Islands to assist. The team comprises five members will be stationed on the Island of Tortola for four weeks. They will be joining other linemen from Caribbean Electric Utility Services.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize