3 replies to this topic

[Belmopan]

There is a controversy brewing in Belize over a hare-brained law passed by the Government of Belize to require ANYONE who wants to fish, even kids or a humble fisherman trying to put food on the table. Some 60% of Belizeans are living in poverty and this draconian measure to try and raise money for a beleaguered government is not sitting well with the population. Here is an interesting letter sent by a concerned citizen and investors:

March 1, 2010

Dear Editor,

Mr. Colin Gillett’s letter (Amandala, Sunday February 28, 2010 issue)
fails to grasp the essential point. Neither I, nor the vast majority
of people I have spoken to over the past three months, have voiced any
major objections to the principle of a Sport Fishing License.

Indeed most people, including myself, as I said in my original letter,
actually support the idea, provided the money Coastal Zone Management
Authority receives is used on fishery patrol and fishery protection
issues. (Remind me how many fishery patrol vessels Coastal Zone has in
operation? Or which law gives them power to enforce this license?)

I am sure the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries has indeed “chosen
the best available system possible to meet our CZMA’s immediate sport
fishery management needs”, which I take to mean, money. Yes the new
law certainly does that. Maybe the Minister’s purpose was to raise an
arbitrary tax on the Belizean people. Well, Coastal Zone may
congratulate the Minister, but there are thousands who I suspect will
not.

Apart from that, I and many others I am sure, agree wholeheartedly
with pretty well everything else in Mr. Gillett’s letter.

However, like the laughable Statutory Instrument 115 itself, it is not
what Mr. Gillett says, it’s what he doesn’t say that needs to be
exposed – his letter entirely misses the point.

Mr. Gillett’s letter does not address the fundamental issue at stake;
that of requiring that ALL people on a boat “equipped for fishing”
have a Sport Fishing License, even people who have no intention or
wish to fish, and extending this requirement to ALL Belizeans.

Neither does it address the situation where even your Auntie, fishing
for a snapper for her dinner with a hand line, has to have a Sport
Fishing License.

Perhaps in the rarified air around Princess Margaret Drive, everyone
CAN afford $100 per year. Mr. Gillett has repeatedly made the point
that it is “only $8 a month”. No, it isn’t – it’s $100 up front. Be
assured Mr. Gillett, here in the south there are many poor Belizeans
who don’t have $100 in one lump to pay the doctor, let alone their
fishing license.

Mr. Gillett’s little mantra, “If you think you need, a license, then
you do,” frankly disrespects his fellow Belizeans – especially the
poor, the young and the elderly.

The attack on tourism which I accused Coastal Zone of making, I stand
by. I am frankly amazed that neither the BTB nor the BTIA have said
one word in public about this. Perhaps they don’t care, but it is an
attack. Our fragile tourism stands to be damaged in the face of this
ridiculous law, whether BTB and BTIA acknowledge that or not.

Imagine if you would the scene. I am a resort owner. I have a guest
who wishes to go fishing with his wife and daughter, who will not be
fishing, simply accompanying the angler to enjoy the day. The angler
is happy to pay for a fishing license – but is not happy to pay for
what we should probably call a “non fishing license” for his wife and
daughter. It is THIS aspect of the law which will bring the country
into disrepute with tourists. It will be seen to be a rip off – and
it is. Yet I and other resort owners will be the ones trying to
explain this idiocy, as we have a duty of care to protect visitors
from unwittingly breaking the law. We will be the ones taking the
flak – not the staff of Coastal Zone.

There is another issue which Coastal Zone seems to have overlooked in
their excitement at finding an apparent cash cow to milk. This is the
issue of the annual license. As the law stands, anybody, of any
nationality, can pay $100 and get a license to fish in Belizean
waters, and take as much fish as they want – except for bonefish,
tarpon and permit.

This means that any Guatemalan, for example, who feels like it, can
obtain such a license, fish to his heart’s content and keep such fish
to sell back home – because there is no catch limit in the law, and
unlike the commercial fishing license, there is no nationality
requirement for an annual sport fishing license. It seems clear that
the annual sport fishing license should be available only to Belizeans
or Belizean residents, and that there should be a reasonable catch
limit attached to all sport fishing licenses. This thought does not
seem to have occurred to Coastal Zone.

Surely Mr. Gillett cannot already have forgotten the reception he got
at the Ambergris Caye Tour Guides Association meeting last Thursday
25th February, can he? Have I really missed the point? Well the
hundred or so tour guides and fishermen present did not think so.

I seem to remember Statutory Instrument 115 being described to his
face as “trash” in that meeting by none other than the much respected
Chairman of the Ambergris Caye Tour Guides Association, Mr. Billy
Leslie.

I also seem to remember speaker after speaker bombarding Mr. Gillett
with questions, and none of them were answered except to say “We are
working on that”. At the end of the meeting this new law was
unanimously rejected in a vote by those present.

Mr. Gillett will no doubt remember that I already tried to consult
with him by travelling all the way to the City from Monkey River to
have a meeting on January 20th of this year on the specific topic of
the problems of the license legislation.

I take this opportunity to say publically that I accept Coastal Zone’s
public invitation to “join us in our deliberations”. I am delighted
to hear that “Coastal Zone’s office is open” - no doubt this will
extend to answering my unanswered emails to Coastal Zone.

I recall Mr. Gillett telling us in the San Pedro meeting, with an
apparent degree of pride, that he had never caught a fish. Well, I
have - in USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, England, Scotland, Wales,
Belgium, France, Italy, Malta, Republic of Ireland, Thailand, Kenya,
Egypt, Spain, South Africa, Lebanon and Iraq, as well as Belize. I
have fished happily within the laws of each country. In not a single
one of these countries (apart from Belize) is there a law that people
on a boat who are not engaged in fishing require a fishing license,
simply because some of the party are fishing.

Coastal Zone Management Authority may be assured of my “strong,
positive, valid and meaningful” criticism.

Sincerely,
Chris Harris, BSc, ARIC
Chairman, Monkey River Tour Guides Association
Owner, Steppingstones Resort
Monkey River

A related article in the San Pedro Sun is also critical of this measure.

[Belmopan]

The numskulls at the Government of Belize have given in a little to the public pressure and will exempt kids and grand parents from buying fishing licenses in order "to promote fishing." Talk of dancing on the head of a pin.

Sixteen and below and 65 and above can get an exemption. Tour guides can also apply for an exemption.

And anyone can stand on a pier or on land and throw in his line for catfish etc.

[chris45]

Just for the record, the changes we have been campaigning for have now mainly been accepted by Coastal Zone, as per their recent press release.
One modification remains but I hope that too will be accepted .
Meanwhile the law reqiring anglers to have sport fishing licences is in effect. Anyone not holding a Belizean passport or permanent residency, is required to have a SFL for boat fishing.
The license is not required for juniors or those over 65, Tour Guides, for those fishing from the shore, nor for non- anglers in a boat.
The situation for Belizeans and residents is presently unclear. For those planning any offshore fishing or flyfishing for tarpon, bonefish or permit, it would probably be wise to buy a license until such time as the situation is clarified.
For Belizeans engaged in "subsistence fishing for food', no license is required.
Licenses are currently available from Placencia Tourist centre, Steppingstones Resort in Monkey River, and other places yet to be announced.
I understand that on line purchases will commwence in about two months time, and also within that timeframe licenses will be available at Phillip Goldson International Airport.
The law requiring all tarpon bonefish and permit to be returned to the water is in effect. It is an offense to have any of these in your possession, whether whole or as meat.
This is my unofficial understanding of the law to be enforced. Anglers are advised to check with Coastal Zone if in any doubt.

[Belmopan]

We share with readers another excellent letter on the topic, this one titled Why Belize Needs a Catch and Release Program:

What is the bonefish worth? A recent article in a US magazine determined that each bonefish in Florida is worth US$3,200 per year – and bonefish can live to be 20 years of age.

For many years, government officials have recognized that Belize’s main sports fish, bonefish, permit and tarpon, need protection as the valuable resources that they are. Belize is one of only a few places in the world where a sports fisherman can catch a bonefish, permit and tarpon all in one day, which is known in the sports fishing world as a “Grand Slam”. The most challenging portion of the Grand Slam is catching the permit and Belize is generally known as “the permit capital of the world”.

In 2007 a comprehensive study entitled “The Economic Impact of Recreational Sports Fishing for Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon in Belize for 2007” brought a fuller understanding of this matter. Dr. Anthony Fedler’s study, which was verified and endorsed by Dr. Vincent Palacio at the University of Belize, found that these three species alone generated 56 million dollars to the Belizean economy in 2007 and provided 1800 fulltime jobs for Belizeans. This amounts to 6% of the entire tourism economy in Belize, which now accounts for approximately 24% of Belize’s GDP. It is also interesting to note that the sports fishing industry in Belize overwhelmingly focuses on these three species, with 93.5% of sports fishermen in Belize targeting these species.

In response to these facts and with the urging of conservationists and the sports fishing industry in Belize, Ministers Hon. Manuel Heredia and Hon. Rene Montero pushed for Catch and Release protection for these species and legislation was finally being enacted in September 2009. It is important to point out that sport fishermen have practiced catch and release for many years in Belize and elsewhere and that the real significance of this law is that it applies to all persons in Belize. As stated in SI 114, “no one, save and except in the act of catch and release, may….”

As the catch and release legislation was being developed, the idea of a Sports Fishing License entered the picture. The Sports Fishing Industry endorsed the concept of a license with the understanding that revenues from the license would be used to enforce the protections for these fish and as long as the license was done properly.

As the legislative process continued, the two issues were split and eventually two separated SI’s were enacted; SI 114 under the Department of Fisheries which established Catch and Release protection for bonefish, permit and tarpon, and SI 115 under Coast Zone which established the Sports Fishing License.

Although the two SI have often been discussed in unison, they are very different matters, with SI 114 being a statute set out to protect an important economic resource in Belize and SI 115 enacted to establish a new license.

There has been considerable controversy in the recent media about the Sports Fishing License. The sports fishing industry supports the changes recently proposed by the Coastal Zone, including 1) an exemption for fishing guides, as this license was never meant to apply to fishing guides, 2) an exemption for those under the age of 16 and over the age of 65 3) that a license should not be required for those fishing from a dock, pier or the seashore and 4) that only those persons actually fishing from a boat and not everyone on board should be required to have a license.

Let’s all keep in mind that the heart of this long process, Catch and Release protection for bonefish, permit and tarpon, is good public policy and good law. We urge that the issues related to the Sports Fishing License be kept in perspective and that no one make the terrible mistake of throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Catch and Release is a term used for catching fish and releasing them back into their environment without harming them. Think about three species generating $56 million to be caught and released back into their natural environment to reproduce, to carry out their ecological contribution towards the environment. Is this not what sustainability aims to achieve? The use of our resources without destroying or jeopardizing the resource? Belizeans, this simply shows that these fish are simply too valuable to be caught and sold in a market for a few dollars per pound. If managed properly these species will bring approximately $600 million dollars into the Belizean economy in the next 10 years.

Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon are now protected in Belize. Let’s be a part of the growth and movement towards sustainability in Belize: support the protection of these species so that our children will be able to reap the sustained economic benefits. “Kech ah rilees da no jus fi mee or u, kech ah rilees da di fucha fi Belize”

Alex Anderson & Craig Hayes
Turneffe Atoll Trust
P.O. Box 1676
Belize City

chris45, on 08 April 2010 - 09:49 PM, said:

Just for the record, the changes we have been campaigning for have now mainly been accepted by Coastal Zone, as per their recent press release.
One modification remains but I hope that too will be accepted .
Meanwhile the law reqiring anglers to have sport fishing licences is in effect. Anyone not holding a Belizean passport or permanent residency, is required to have a SFL for boat fishing. SNIP