Hondurans arrested for illegal fishing

Three Honduran fishermen remain behind bars at Hattieville prison after they were caught illegally fishing in a marine reserve. On Thursday, rangers employed by Friends of Nature, a non-profit organization that works along with the Fisheries Department, encountered the men and their vessel fishing near Gladden Spit some twenty miles east of Placencia. The reserve there is unique in that it is one of the few spots in this hemisphere where whale sharks are known to congregate. According to Errol Diaz, fisheries inspector and prosecutor, they found onboard two iceboxes that contained a total of one hundred and fifty pounds of fish. The men were quickly arrested and charged for a number of offences.

Errol Diaz, Fisheries Inspector, Prosecutor

“They had no fisherman’s license and no boat license. They were charged two hundred and fifty dollars, and five dollars cost of court for the use of a boat in commercial fishing without a valid license, and two hundred and fifty dollars also for fishing without a valid fisherman’s license.”

“The fishermen are currently being dealt with by immigration. They were remanded and sent to Hattieville, in default of the fines that were levied and now they have three months imprisonment.”

Jacqueline Woods

“How common is this problem? How frequently do you find fishermen in marine reserves?”

Errol Diaz

“Very frequently. But with the assistance of the rangers and Friends of Nature and different organizations, we are able to deal with it in this fashion.”

The three fishermen arrested are twenty four year old Juan Carlos Olevare, twenty-eight year old Miguel Angel Miranda and twenty year old Marco Antonio Castillo. Although it is the first time the men were found in Belizean waters, Diaz says records reveal that the vessel, which has no name, was involved in a previous incident of illegal fishing.