Minister of Blue Economy Addresses UN Ocean Conference in Portugal

He is all the way in Lisbon, Portugal, attending the United Nations Oceans Conference. But Minister of the Blue Economy, Andre Perez took Belize’s best practices with him. In his address to the assembly on Wednesday, Perez spoke about the regulations that Belize has in place to protect our shell fish like conch and lobster. He said that in laying down the rules, people also need to be educated on the dos and don’ts in order to sustainably fish.

Andre Perez

Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy

“While the conch season – products and lobster as well are a big part of the blue economy in Belize, we recognize that it is precariously on the dangerous side and that we must be monitoring very closely. In fact, this weekend was the end of the conch season because we met our quota. That is part of what we do, set quotas, but we are under existential threat of the regional and foreign invasion of fisheries there. That is very much a serious threat. Also, education – educating our people about the size of the conch that must be harvested. So constantly, not only are we talking about using technology but it also entails education, educating our people who are involved in this.”