Another vessel runs aground; signals need for buoys

We have reported on various recent marine disasters along Belize’s Barrier Reef and tonight there is another accident that occurred north of Ambergris Caye last weekend. A thirty-two foot vessel belonging to the Sueño del Mar resort ran aground in the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, and there was some controversy surrounding the accident as it allegedly went unreported. Today, the Ecosystems Management Unit Coordinator for the Fisheries Department, James Azueta, addressed those reports and gave us his assessment of this alarming environmental problem.

James Azueta, E.M.U., Fisheries Department
“Well, last weekend we had a vessel, a thirty-two footer red and white vessel, went aground inside the Bacalar Chico marine Reserve.”

Jose Sanchez
“This vessel came from where?”

James Azueta
“It belongs to Sueño del Mar, which is one of the neighboring resorts in the Bacalar Chico Area.”

Jose Sanchez
“There were some allegations that the officer who visited the scene did not report it.”

James Azueta
“That’s not true. Actually, it was reported to the manager for the marine reserve, but the grounding was on a sandy area and a little dead patch reef. So the damage was insignificant and it was actually going to be put in the monthly report, but it didn’t come up to the higher chain of command because, like I said, the damage was very minimal.”

Jose Sanchez
“Even though the damage was minimal, a lot of environmentalists are saying that there needs to be more mooring buoys out in San Pedro because you had the accidents as with the Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas-Pliego with the Azteca, and other catamarans in the past month.”

James Azueta
“Well, we are in the process of putting a lot of more mooring buoys out, especially in the marine reserves. In fact, starting next month, we will start to put out fifteen mooring buoys in the reserves and also there are other NGO’s who are putting mooring buoys outside the marine reserve. In fact, we have over two hundred and fifty mooring buoys presently spread all over the country. We expect that number to grow to, probably, double within the next three to four months.”

Jose Sanchez
“In your assessment, why do you think we have so many ships or vessels running aground near the reef or around San Pedro?”

James Azueta
“Two things, one of them: people are more conscious of what happens and those are being reported and two, we have more traffic in Belize; there are lot more vessels in Belizean waters.”

Jose Sanchez
“Do you think the buoy is the only possible solution? Is there anything else?”

James Azueta
“No, the best practice is actually another good solution where they should know how to navigate, avoid current systems and go into deeper waters.”