Tour Guides and Fisherfolk Fear Fallout from Marine Protection Plan

The President of the Belize Flat Fishery Association, Eworth Garbutt, is sounding the alarm about a government-backed project called Resilient Bold Belize. It’s designed to protect marine resources and help communities adapt to climate change, but Garbutt says it could sink the livelihoods of tour guides and fisherfolk. The plan, he says, would expand fully protected marine zones into areas where families earn their living, including coral reef systems. And that draft map goes up for validation tomorrow. So, is this conservation or confrontation?

 

Eworth Garbutt, President, Belize Flat Fishery Association

“I like people to understand when you say full protection in the north, like when you are up in Hol Chan in San Pedro, Hol Chan is only recreation whereby you snorkel and dive, no catching bait, fly fishing, no recreation fishing period, down in Laughing Bird Caye, down Snake Caye, just for viewers to understand, it is full protection. And what is more important, the whole nation of Belize is four percent fully protected currently. It is no take zone and that is how we know it and it rings a bell for us because it has a literal name where there is nothing to take because of management. So my point is whenever we say protection, it is very important we protect it from the threat. The threat is not fishers, the threat is multifactor, but one that stands out is sewer. Are we doing anything for the waste, the degradation of mangroves, the seagrass beds, the overwater structure. The answer is point blank no. Tomorrow the fourth of December a should be the final draft to send to government , because it is like I am getting your land paper and use it for collateral. It is PFP, I have to study that work. What I use the PFP for is permanent fishing place, that is what they are taking away. They are taking it away from the resilient bold Belizean. I the change the whole form deh the deal with.”