Prime Minister Explains Fisheries Loan

Prime Minister John Briceño

There was a back and forth this morning in the House, after Prime Minister John Briceño rose to speak on a loan of seven million U.S dollars that the government is getting from the Inter-American Development Bank. This is to expand the government’s ability to promote sustainable growth, to sustainably manage key commercial species in the fisheries sector and assist to mitigate factors that can jeopardize the fishing sector’s ability to continue producing up to par. The work plan is for a period of five years and the loan will be repaid over a period of twenty-five years. The PM explained how they will use the money.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“This $7 million that we’re borrowing is going to help the Fisheries Department under the Ministry of the Blue Economy to be able to do one, to do the research, to use the science to show how it is that we’re going to manage our resources sustainably going forward, and secondly, a portion of the funds is going to be used directly with our fisher folks to help them to do two things: one, to learn how to be able to manage our resources sustainably, but also to look at other opportunities that may be made available to them, such as for instance, fly fishing. That now has become a huge sport in Belize. It is bringing in over $250 million dollars U.S., half a billion dollars per year. And it continues to grow, and it is catch and release. So that the people now that are doing, are doing fly fishing, with our tourists. The guys that are doing that now are making even a lot more money than when they were fishing for lobsters or conch and so forth. So, Madam Speaker, it is important for us to point out to both sides of this House that this loan is very important for this country, that we can be able to continue to manage sustainably what we have, and that we can learn from the mistakes in the region where they have overfished their marine life.”