Illegal Dredging Claims Mexico Rock Near Ambergris Caye

Environmental groups are sounding the alarm over what they call unchecked coastal damage, warning that ecosystems and livelihoods are at risk. In a joint statement, the Ambergris North Alliance is calling for an immediate halt to development in sensitive areas like Hol Chan, Bacalar Chico, Placencia, and Corozal Bay. They also want stricter enforcement of environmental laws. The group points to ongoing violations, including alleged illegal dredging at Mexico Rocks near Ambergris Caye. ANA President Catherine Paz says the situation is eroding public trust and putting Belize’s biodiversity and climate resilience in danger.

 

On the Phone: Catherine Paz, President, Ambergris North Alliance

“Just last week there’s a bulkhead that’s at mile eight up north. It’s on the beach. I can put it in perspective. It’s about six hundred yards before X’tan Ha Resort. So this bulkhead, it sits just on the barrier of the whole, of the Mexico Rocks Marine Reserve. And from the day the bulkhead was made, we had concerns. We informed DOE, we informed the mayor, we informed the area rep. Of course, nothing was done. So the bulkhead is still there, but every time the barge comes to land at the bulkhead, apparently the sand moves and they get stuck, and then they start digging again. We have all the video of this happening last week. They were dredging up till midnight at night. Apparently, what we heard is that they had permits when they first started, but those permits expired, and they were dredging illegally because they did not have a new permit. It stopped for a while, maybe an hour, two hours, and then it commenced again, and it worked into the night until midnight. That’s the most pressing thing that just happened last week. But it’s an series of ongoing issues. The amount of dredging, land reclamation. We have the two quarries up north here, and it’s extensive damage being done to our island, and that’s why we’ve been nice. We’ve spoken. We’ve asked for meetings. We’ve been ignored, so now we’ve decided to do this joint statement. All this dredging causes siltation, and it’s in a marine reserve or on the board of the marine reserve, so the water currents take it right out to the reef. Remember, we have the reef not even a quarter mile in front of us. We have the reef right in front of us, and the more further you go up north, the closer the reef gets to the land.”

 

We reached out to the Department of the Environment and the Mining Unit, which confirmed that they have received the reports and claim that the situation is under investigation.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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