B.F.F Calls on Ministry of Blue Economy to Take Action against Fishing Company

The Belize Federation of Fishers has gone public, once again, over its concerns in respect to a report ago that a fishing company has been caught with a sizeable catch of undersized conch. The B.F.F. has expressed further concerns that, from its perspective, the authorities have done nothing so far to penalize the company. In its latest release, the B.F.F. calls on the Minister and the Ministry of the Blue Economy to publicly address the issue.  The allegation is that Rainforest Seafood Limited was caught more than two weeks ago in possession of over twenty-two thousand, eight hundred undersized conch. The B.F.F. writes, “This has been an issue that has been widely reported and discussed and debated in both the press and on social media. The allegations and perhaps legitimate charges against Rainforest are that over two weeks ago on June 29, 2023 Fisheries Authorities documented a total of twenty-two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-seven specimens or pieces of undersized conch in the possession of said business concerned. This amounted to over three thousand pounds of products which would be in recent memory, the largest illegal haul of seafood products”. The press release goes on to remind that over the past year a number of fishers have been charged and convicted of similar offences, and whose penalties are steep. The federation ends off its release reminding that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.