Belize Reviews Strategy to Safeguard Fishing Industry

The Belize Fisheries Department hosted a national workshop to review and validate the country’s strategy for fisheries enforcement and conservation monitoring. 

The workshop comes amid growing concerns about enforcement capacity in Belize. A recent study found that Nassau grouper, once one of the Caribbean’s most abundant and commercially important fish, is in sharp decline. 

At Northeast Point on Glover’s Reef Atoll, the number of groupers gathering to spawn has dropped by 85% over the past two decades. Researchers point to overfishing and limited regulatory enforcement as key factors, underscoring the urgent need for stronger monitoring and protection measures to safeguard Belize’s marine life.

The workshop brought together government leaders, including Minister of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation Andre Perez, alongside experts, business owners, and conservation groups. 

Fisheries Administrator Rigoberto Quintana explained the need for updated management plans, noting that current strategies for lobster, conch, and fin fish are outdated. “We had the multi-species management plan for fin fish and for lobster and conch, they’re outdated since 2014,” he said.

Valdemar Andrade, Executive Director of the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association, stressed the economic importance of Turneffe’s fisheries. “Turneffe produces a significant amount of conch, lobster and fin fish for the national economy… Twenty-five to thirty percent of the conch and lobster that goes to national Northern cooperatives come from Turneffe,” he said.

Andrade added that the updated data will guide future management and engagement with fishers. “We are here to understand how that work looks nationally… How do we engage better with fishers based on the data that we are seeing?”