Belize is a small nation that has been making some big headlines lately due to the rogue fishing practices of some of the vessels its government has flagged. Regrettably, this has cast the entire Belizean fishing industry in a poor light, including its 15,000 people whose livelihoods are directly tied to fishing. A reader of recent headlines could deduce that the Belizean government is not doing anything to promote sustainable fishing. That assumption, and the EU’s move to ban imports from Belize, have one thing in common: They are wrong.
In its coastal fisheries, Belize is leading the way in innovative management strategies designed to preserve biodiversity in a manner that keeps fishermen on the water and focused on the long-term sustainability of fish stocks. Future generations of Belizeans will be able to carry on their rich fishing traditions thanks to the decisions, at times quite difficult, being made right now.
Beyond Belize’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the European Union (EU) and Belize are working to resolve the issue of pirate fishing by Belizean flagged vessels. The current situation, which has led to an EU import ban on all Belizean fisheries products, is untenable on both sides and deserving of immediate remediation.
This ban and the illegal fishing practices beyond Belize’s waters responsible for it obscures one of the most significant success stories in oceans conservation and sustainable fisheries anywhere in the world. A coalition of fishermen, fishery managers, marine scientists, and non-governmental organizations are crafting sustainable fishing regulations that simultaneously protect biodiversity and Belize’s vital coastal fishing industry.
Belize is home to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest such reef in the Western hemisphere and whose magnificent ecosystem is seriously threatened. As more and more people turn to fishing for their livelihoods, a race-to-the-last-fish mentality sets in and leads to overfishing and declining incomes. In the developing world, this perverse dynamic allows natural capital to be extracted at a net economic value loss given daily sustenance demand for nutrition and income. Fish represent one of the most important renewable resources on the planet, as governments, NGOs and institutions continue to address poverty and global development challenges. They are underwater and, as a resource, under-represented.
It’s important to remember that fish aren’t simply a menu option in Belize, where so many people are dependent on them for jobs and protein. Since 2009, the Government of Belize, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and a range of other organizations have worked to formulate management techniques that set appropriate catch limits and establish restricted areas.
Individual catch quotas are then apportioned and eligible fishermen are determined. After all, the first step in addressing overfishing is to reduce it. The key is to do so in a manner that retains as much value in the resource as possible. Catch share or managed access programs have been constructed to deliver numerous co-benefits, including ending overfishing, preserving biodiversity, and strengthening the fishing industry.
Guided by this philosophy, Belize is developing a national network of Territorial User Rights for Fishing, or TURFs, which allocate privileges to groups of fishermen that allow them to fish in specific areas. Strong science is central to the management of the TURFs. Teams of scientists from the government, academic, and NGO communities are collaborating to assess the status of Belize’s fisheries and fashion policies based on accurate data.
TURFs also include replenishment zones, where fishing is prohibited so that fish stocks can repopulate. This is a win-win system where fishermen have a direct stake in the health of the area where they fish and by extension have more incentive to help protect the replenishment zone. As these fisheries recover, fishermen can catch more fish and become vocal stewards of the ecosystem.
1996-2013 National Geographic Society