Fishermen caught with nets on the reef

It is not the first time they have been arrested, but with shark fins fetching up to $75.00 a pound on the Guatemalan market they must have felt it was worth the risk. But someone who was concerned enough about protecting the marine life at the Glover’s Reef Reserve called the Fisheries Department. Their team moved in and today they showed us what they found. Ironically enough, among those arrested was a member of the Fishing Advisory Board.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting

The fishermen have been identified as Jorge Williams, Ricardo Parham and Gerson Coleman and most surprisingly Ovel Leonardo. Leonardo is not only a member of the Northern Fishing Coop; he is on the Fishing Advisory Board for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. They were arrested during an operation at Glover’s Reef early Wednesday morning.

Liston McCord, Acting Chief Captain, Fisheries Department

“We got a report that some people were apparently setting nets in the reserve so we responded to the call yesterday about 2:00 in the morning. We left and reached Glovers Reef at dawn and when we arrived there, sure enough two boats were pulling up some nets in the general use area of the Glovers Reef Marine Reserve.”

Two boats with outboard engines, 1,000 pounds of fish, 41 pounds of shark fins, nets and fishing equipment were hauled into the Fisheries Department after they were confiscated out at sea. The patrol observed two men in each boat pulling up a large quantity of sharks. The officers also confiscated thirteen sacks of salt that the fishermen had allegedly bought in Guatemala.

Liston McCord

“Actually we informed them that they were in the reserve and we asked them where they had their camps. So we eventually took them over to their camps and to our surprise the guys had about a 1,000 pounds of shark already salted, that they said they had caught at the same spot.”

“Actually we are here to uphold the law and you know to do our job and as far as I am concern nobody is above the law. We were sent to do our job and we caught all of these guys in the act of illegal fishing and we brought them in and I am hoping that in due course that the law will take its place.”

It is not the first time all four men have been charged with the offense of illegal setting of nets. Leonardo presently has a case pending in Placencia for a January incident while this latest arrest is the third offence for Williams, Parham and Coleman.

All four men appeared in Magistrate Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. They are schedule to reappear in court on March 28th.