The Belize Federation of Fisheries is at odds again with the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association. The B.F.F. fired off a press release on Wednesday to call out TASA’s board for its ‘illegal’ composition. According to the federation, their reps have been removed from the board, which now only has two members. Nigel Martinez of the […]
The B.F.F. fired off a press release on Wednesday about monies TASA received from PACT because it feels that TASA’s board doesn’t have the right composition and should not have been granted project funds. The federation has since written to PACT and the Financial Intelligence Unit voicing their concerns about the disbursement of monies. They […]
A group of fishermen from Sarteneja Village says that they are being targeted by the Belize Coast Guard. According to the fishermen, last year the Coast Guard removed them from a small caye they call Sandbore Caye, which is being used as fishing camp sixteen miles south east of Placencia. They say that the Sandbore […]
When we reached out to the Belize Coast Guard, they had a different version of the story. According to Captain Elton Bennett, they have offered multiple notices to the occupants of the small caye, dating back to last year. Bennett says that the Coast Guard is not targeting a specific group of people, but that […]
Today, a driver along the Hummingbird Highway captured a flow of garbage near mile forty-nine. The garbage wasn’t litter along the road; it was garbage being transferred to the dump site in a Belmopan City Council garbage truck. The truck didn’t have a tarp or covering to secure the waste material and the Styrofoam, plastic, […]
A recent trip to the Turneffe Atoll shows that there is large scale development in areas within the cluster of islands that are considered private property. Despite the acreages being individually held, there are issues of lack of environmental compliance, particularly where the building of massive commercial structures are concerned. Tonight, we look at the […]
The Nassau Grouper is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. Data recently published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature puts the Nassau Grouper as a critically endangered species in the region. In Belize, the Wildlife Conservation Society puts the population of the fish at Glover’s Reef Atoll at around […]
So while the Nassau Grouper is facing extinction, at the Turneffe Island, overfishing is also a huge concern. The Turneffe Atoll was declared a marine reserve seven years ago and in 2018, environmental and an economic study was carried out. Today, we were treated to a look at the impact of development and fishing in […]
How much do you do know about the battery that powers up your car? Once it no longer works, you’re likely to discard of it. But the way you discard it can pose serious risks to you and the environment. Because the batteries contain mostly lead, a dangerous heavy metal when it is exposed, it […]
A strong earthquake hit southern Mexico this morning. Fortunately, there is no reported loss of life or major injuries and infrastructural damage. The quake scared people, some evacuated their homes and others recorded swaying buildings. Mexican media is reporting that at least one school received minor damage as the tremors rocked across the southern state. […]
For weeks, a developer in Belize City and the Department of Environment, have been entangled in a dispute. Businessman, Dion Zabaneh, according to the Department of the Environment has not been complying with an order to stop reclaiming sea front in the Caribbean Shores area where he intends to construct. It all came to a […]
Gillnets in Belize continue to be a divisive issue among environmentalists and fisherfolks. Earlier in the week, the Fisheries Department had to confiscate a large gill net which had been set up near Bird’s Isle. Several environmental groups have called for the ban on gillnets, but traditional fisherfolks are resisting, saying that banning the use […]
The Fisheries Department on Tuesday confiscated an old derelict gillnet in the vicinity of the Bird’s Isle area of Belize City. According to the Department, the gill net did not have a registration tag as required by law and no fish or any marine animal were found entangled in the gill net. Fisheries officials confirmed […]
How much do you know about mercury? It may not be something you think about often, but you may use a product or two everyday that contains mercury such as batteries or some types of light bulbs. But you don’t have to go that far because some fishes you eat also contain mercury. Exposure to […]
Fisherfolks remain divided on the issue of gillnets. There are groups such as the Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries who are vehemently opposed to the continued use of gillnets. On the other side of the fence, there are fishermen and organizations such as the Belize Fishermen Cooperative Association who are opposed to a ban on gillnets. […]
Belize National Climate Change Office is responsible for the coordination of Belize’s national, regional and international response to Climate Change. This entails some sensitization, as well as reporting on and implementation of climate action programmes. Some of these programmes tie in to Belize’s Nationally Determined Contributions which are plans to reduce greenhouse gases that are […]
The Turneffe Atoll is one of Belize’s seven marine protected areas. Located twenty miles east of Belize City, the Turneffe Atoll is considered the largest, most biologically diverse coral atoll in the Western Hemisphere. So when news of an Israeli N.G.O. buying a piece of the atoll broke, many concerns were raised. But as Executive […]
An Israeli N.G.O. has raised funds for the purchasing of a portion of the Turneffe Atoll. This is My Earth, TIME is an international organization to which anyone, at any age, can contribute anything, from a dollar onward. The N.G.O. used crowd funding to raise thirty-thousand dollars to buy five acres of the atoll. The […]
According to Anderson, the five-acre piece of land is in a strategic position, preventing the development of the area for tourism. He says the land transaction will not include seabed or coral reefs. Alex Anderson, Executive Director, Turneffe Atoll Trust “As you know a lot of studies show that for areas so pristine as Turneffe […]
Friends for Conservation and Development has been documenting threats within the Chiquibul Forest for eleven years. Those threats include illegal logging, poaching, and gold panning, which was the biggest threat in 2017. But according to Executive Director Rafael Manzanero, there is an even bigger threat on the horizon. It’s known as “narco-cattle ranching” and it […]
Manatee advocate Jamal Galvez is advising boaters to exercise caution when passing through the Belize River. Galvez, with the assistance of the MAR Fund, has installed several signs along the river to draw attention that manatees live in the area. As a part of the awareness, Galvez has also installed billboards and painted a mural. […]
The Ombudsman, Lionel Arzu has written to Fisheries Administrator Beverly Wade exercising its power of review telling the Fisheries Department to provide OCEANA in Belize with information on gillnets, which the N.G.O. requested in November of 2018. Under the Freedom of Information Act, OCEANA requested copies of documents in relation to registered gillnets, the fishers […]
But how did it get to this point? In the past, we have reported on OCEANA, the Fisheries Department and other conservation groups advocating for alternative fishing methods for fishers. Recently, a group of fishers came forward saying that they want to continue to use gillnets and that a ban would threaten their livelihood. OCEANA’s […]
With the tourism peak season already underway, Mayor Daniel Guerrero also gave an update on how the island has been managing the issue of sargassum. He says that the private sector, particularly hoteliers, have joined the council to fight the natural phenomenon and clean up the beaches. Daniel Guerrero, Mayor, San Pedro “When the […]
The Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT, has awarded six point seven million dollars in conservation investments to protected areas. The investments will be made through six local conservation organizations that collectively co-manage twelve protected areas. The monies will be disbursed through the following N.G.O.s: Ya’axché Conservation Trust will receive one million dollars to be invested […]
