Fishermen must improve conservation practices, say co-op officials
While a story earlier in this newscast may indicate otherwise, there is much more going on in Belizean waters than the transshipment of drugs. Tonight, in the second part of our story on the conservation of marine resources, we’ll see what steps fishermen are taking to insure the survival of their industry.
Alan Burn, Chairman, National Fishermen’s Cooperative
“The role of the professional fisherman in conservation is perhaps the biggest role of all, because he’s the one that’s out there most of the time. He sees what’s going on and he feels any changes. He knows when the catch is good and when the catch is bad. And he’s the one who should be the first one to report any change for the worse.”
The role of watchdog is an important one, but more than simply reporting changes, the Belizean fisherman can also take action to positively influence the state of the marine environment.
With regard to waste management, for example, fishermen must be careful not to pollute the sea with plastic bottles or other debris. When mooring, boats of any size should insure that their anchors are placed in sand and not in coral. Likewise when diving, care should be taken not to grab or break coral while hooking a lobster or spearing a fish.
And when the catch is finally brought aboard it is critical that the processing is done efficiently, both to insure the freshness of the product and to avoid contaminating the very waters that have proven so bountiful. Enrique Salazar Jr. fishes primarily for lobster in the waters around Goff’s Caye, only 12 miles from Belize City. The lobster tails are cut out carefully, the intestines removed and any blood thoroughly washed off. The tails are also placed in a sodium solution to insure their cleanliness and firmness for export.
Enrique Salazar Jr., Fisherman
“So you can see the difference in the lobster when it’s washed in the sodium. The lobster with the sodium is more white and hard, the meat gets hard. And the other one on the left hand is the lobster without the sodium. You can see the difference between the two lobsters, the one with the sodium and the one without the sodium.
That’s why it’s very important to always wash the lobster with sodium to protect the lobster from getting black until the time we deliver it to the co-op.”
And those parts of the catch, both lobster heads and conch shells, not delivered to the co-op must be disposed of in a manner which insures the sustainability of the catch.
Enrique Salazar Jr.
“So we also have to make sure not to throw the head of the lobster in the same spot where we catch the lobster. Because if you do so the same head of the lobster will scare all the lobster away and in doing that we are going to continue having production on the same area where we usually dive and catch all the lobster and the conchs.”
Just as fishermen understand the need to preserve their own fishing grounds, all Belizeans must realize that what they do – on land as well as at sea – has a tremendous effect on the health of our marine resources.
Increased agricultural development and poor conservation practices on the mainland have meant that more silt is being washed down our rivers, possibly damaging our reefs and other spawning areas for fish. The same is true for pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals that are used in large-scale agriculture, as well as effluent from the growing number of shrimp farming operations now springing up along the coast. The growth of Belize’s population has also meant that more human waste must be processed, and if not done carefully this kind of pollution can also affect the quality and productivity of the marine environment. This increasing population, particularly along the coast, has also resulted in the accelerated destruction of mangrove areas. These valuable habitats, often dismissed as worthless swamp, provide critical shelters where many species are spawned and grow to adulthood. When mangroves are destroyed for housing or tourism their nourishment is lost forever.
The destruction of mangroves for hotels and marinas is not the only way that tourism negatively impacts the marine environment. Increased arrivals of visitors, while desirable from a solely economic point of view, can also be a two edged sword. Protected areas, for example, may not be large enough to accommodate a growing tourist population. The result is, that even though no fishing is taking place, the overwhelming human presence can damage the coral through touching, standing or even dropping anchors on the reef. This damage, not only reduces the fish population, but also lowers the aesthetic value of the reef, making it less of an attraction for the very tourists who are causing the damage.
The increase in tourism and the fact that these tourists are now going further afield to the outer atolls, southern cayes and other previously remote areas will present police makers of the 21st century with new challenges. How will we balance for example, the needs of the fishing industry with those of the tourism industry? What types of national parks and reserves should be established and what kind of activities should be allowed in them? Just as there are reserves now off limits to fishing, should there be areas made off limits to tourists? These are only a few of the serious questions Belize will have to consider. But despite the challenges there is reason for optimism.
Alan Burn
“We have a great resource that we should preserve, and I think that with careful planning we can do it. So I am definitely optimistic? of course if we miss the opportunity, if we just continue the way we’re going we could do some serious damage here in a short time. So we have to start planning what to do from now.”
And that is going to require a determined effort. Whatever decisions are made it is clear that no policies will be effective without the support of the people who live and work and visit here. This means fishermen and their families, whether they use the sea for subsistence, as a business or for pleasure. And it means all the rest of us, whether we live on the beach, in the mountains or somewhere in between.
That report was produced by Channel Five for the Belize Fishermen’s Cooperative Association.
