Fisheries Remove More Illegal Gillnets During Nighttime Operation

The Belize Fisheries Department has removed more than 3,100 feet of illegal gillnets from the Temash River Estuary in southern Belize, with approximately 300 small fish found entangled in one net and a dead tarpon documented in another.

The department’s Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit in Punta Gorda conducted the operation on October 15, recovering four gillnets measuring approximately 3,120 feet combined.

According to the department, the longest net, stretching more than 2,400 feet, had a two-inch mesh and contained approximately 300 small fish.

Officers also documented a dead tarpon measuring about two feet in length in another net.

The recovery took about two hours. The Fisheries Department reported that people in the surrounding community responded with hostility while officers retrieved the nets. Because the nets were unattended, officers could not identify who had set them.

An extended patrol did not uncover any additional fishing gear.

Gillnets are prohibited in Belize under the Fisheries Resources (Gill Net Prohibition) Regulations, 2020. The regulations ban their use and possession in Belize’s fisheries waters, as well as the landing, sale, purchase or possession of fish caught using the nets.

The Fisheries Department says indiscriminate gillnet fishing threatens juvenile and non-target fish, aquatic wildlife and the sustainability of fish populations. It is urging fishers and members of the public to report suspected illegal fishing activities through official channels.

Over 1,000 Feet of Illegal Gillnet Pulled From Waters Near Temash-Sarstoon