Guatemalans with Belizean Fishing License? Say It Ain’t So!

Wil Maheia

According to Maheia, these men have been issued fishing licenses to operate within Belizean waters, a practice, he says, that ought to be illegal.  When the BTV pursued the Guatemalan vessel upon its departure from Punta Gorda, they were reportedly met with a nonchalant attitude from the fishermen.

On the Phone: Wil Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers

“Some of them do have Belizean fishing license and the fact that they live in Guatemala proves that they should not have a Belizean fishing license.  So I would like that they identify their faces and revoke their fishing licenses because that is what we are supposed to that as a country and I hope that the government pays attention to this, I mean it was just brazen on their part.  And when they came back and the Territorial Volunteers intercepted them, you could see their behaviour, you know, it’s like, “You can’t stop us, you can’t tell us what to do.  We do as we please.”  You could see from the footage, I am sure you probably have the footage that I had sent out that they were just like, you know, “We do what we want when we come to Belize” kind of mentality.  And I hope that the authorities are paying attention, I am sure that they could identify the faces that were at that protest and I am sure that if they need help they can come to Punta Gorda and we can help them to identify who in that group has Belizean fishing license and they should not be having Belizean fishing licenses.”