Regional cooperation planned for fisheries

It is no secret that for the last thirty years fishermen from neighbouring Honduras and Guatemala, having emptied their own waters of edible seafood, have been working hard to deplete ours. With enforcement of anti-poaching laws hampered by lack of resources and political will, there is hope that a new strategy, unveiled this morning by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, might have more success. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The new integrated policy on fisheries and aquaculture promises to promote the future management of marine resources in Central America. Belize Fisheries Administrator, Beverly Wade, says because these resources do not respect borders, the regional approach is the only way to go.

Beverly Wade, Administrator, Fisheries Dept.
?We not only have to do what we should do nationally because we each have our national responsibilities, but we also have to look at it from a regional perspective to ensure that we have coordination and we have harmonization in our approach in terms of management and development. That way we will be able to ensure the sustainability of our resources, better health of the environment, and also it allows us as a region to now plan regionally to steer development and to allow us to get more benefits from our fisheries resource and our aquaculture resources.?

?It brings a strong approach from Central American countries in the international forum rather than for us to be participating and to be lobbying and negotiating as individual countries. We have a harmonised approach and as a result it allows us to also derive more benefits that should come back to our region.?

Jacqueline Woods
?Why did it take so long for this policy to come into effect??

Mike Espat, Minister of Fisheries
?Communication, I believe… getting our neighbours to understand our situation and they also have political pressures on their sides with their people, I presume, that keeps lobbying that they need to make a livelihood too and the seas are out there and they need to use it. There is no mark, there is no line, no borders between us so they just use it.?

Minister of Fisheries Mike Espat says the harmonised approach should also address a long standing problem Belize has been experiencing in her territorial waters.

Mike Espat
?The harmonisation that we spoke about today deals basically with our neighbouring countries that they come in and fish in our waters without any permission, no permits, no license. And the seasons, we want them to put all the seasons to open and close at the same time, so that if we catch anybody with something out of season, then they know that they are breaking the law and our people will also know it on this side.?

Some of the strategies to be implemented include institutional and organizational strengthening, adoption of regional decisions, regional surveillance and control, and management of shared species. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.