And while the airport is causing that costly mess, another battle is stewing to see who will control one of the city’s sea ports. It’s happening in the Belize harbour where the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Association is fighting for turf against an incoming competitor who wants to operate in the same area. And caught in the middle of all this are the fishing vessels that dock there. How will all these competing interests co-exist? That’s what we tried to find out today.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
On Tuesday the Belize Port Authority started removing fishing vessels from their usual place of anchor reportedly to alleviate the overcrowding. While the intention may be good the fishermen are upset because they claim the move has now put their livelihood in jeopardy. The men are also upset because they say they were not even consulted.
Jacqueline Godwin,
And when they came to move the boats what did they tell you?
Delbert Staine, Cook, fishing vessel
“They didn’t tell anyone anything, they were just moving people’s boats. They didn’t have meeting with fishermen or nothing. They should have had a meeting with everybody, they should have informed us but they didn’t inform anyone. Nobody they didn’t inform so they are taking advantage of the fishermen and we have them the eat because we don’t go and make money and thing, how will we pay them out of our tax and thing and we are paying tax to be out here. Not even the government, the Minister, nobody tell nobody nothing. Everything we pay for out here.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So the boats we are seeing out here represent only 30% of the vessels that are usually anchored here?
Delbert Staine,
“At least we got like 40 odd more boats out there that are looking to come in and some of them out there don’t know this is happening in here and when they come in they will have problems too.”
Sylvano Cob, Rep, National Fishermen Co-op
“Yesterday I saw them move like seven and this morning they moved this whole amount here which I believe is about 20 and the concern of the fishermen is that they are just packing boats like sardines. How will this boat come out
when they want to come out? Really I don’t see the sense because usually when fishermen want to park they leave openings where they can come out because you know those boats are built from lumber and usually when you park your boat you leave a distance so they won’t rub because right now to fix a boat is very expensive. I believe the fishermen spend every year $5,000 or $6,000 just to repair boat, every year and the season just start and this continues like this maybe by the next few months time they will have to repair again because sure sure the side will be broken.
They say they will move the boat eight feet towards the Commercial Center but I know that the area is only like one and a half feet deep, sometimes less. I don’t know how they could do that, pushing those boats in. Right there its good because it is calm but just wait until it gets rough and the tide is, it is not so low right now, sometimes it is lower than this.”
Chocolate Heredia, Boat Captain
“All a we dah Belizeans and we have a right. Those fishermen for years, from I was a fishermen were there and they don’t like for you to move them from your house and throw you somewhere else you know.”
Delbert Staine,
“From yesterday, some of those men who own those boats are in Sartenja with their families and they move the men’s boats, knock up the boats, bruk the boats, and the guys who are moving them can’t pay back for those boats. Those boats are expensive and when you tell them to leave the boats they get vex with you and they like want to press charges on you for what. If anything happens to the boats who will pay for it and most of these boats have been here from before I born. These boats attract tourists, tourists come on the bridge and take pictures and where will you put the boat if you squeeze them together.
How will we come out when it is time to go and work? They are really taking advantage of we.”
The men believe the activity on the water is to allow Belize Water Terminal to start operating from the area right next door to the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Terminal.
Sylvano Cob,
“Seeing that they will open a new terminal close by the bridge foot which to me is very close, having another one so I believe it is just a matter of accommodating someone else.”
The new water service has also provoked the ire of their competitor and next door neighbor, the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Terminal. According to one of the boat captain Chocolate Heredia they welcome competition but not the kind that stands to hurt everyone’s business in the area.
Jacqueline Godwin,
How do you see this creating a problem?
Chocolate Heredia,
“I think it is crazy because it is going to cause a lot of confusion because there are so close to one another and the outside the hassling of the people and I think we don’t mind, because I am one of the people in the water taxi, I don’t mind they give them their license somewhere else but not close because out there it will cause a lot of problems and the traffic in the river too. Competition is good but I don’t think it should be too close.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Where do you think they should have been located?
Chocolate Heredia,
“Another part, maybe at the tourism village or front of Bellevue Hotel but see with Triple J we are friends, we get together in meetings and that is the only way but this thing will cause a lot of problems, a lot of ruction with the buses and thing here and I don’t think it is a good idea because you can’t stop them because everybody wants to live but all we are asking is not to be close, that’s all we want.”
Belize Water Taxi Terminal has also met resistance on land from the cab drivers who work in the area.
Dennis Wright, Land Taxi Association
“It’s already congested, we don’t use to work in fuss and fight and right there our post is and it is next door, less than a feet, so it is really going to affect because we can see all the different guys coming around. Our association, we screen the members them, but we don’t know who are next door.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
You’re not against competition.
Dennis Wright,
“We’re not against it but it’s too close.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Where do you believe they should have been located?
Dennis Wright,
“At least five houses down I think would be better than right next door.”
But for Myron and Giovanni Marin, owners of Belize Water Taxi Terminal to compete
in the business the location is ideal. While they have plans to expand their operation what they will be offering is a San Pedro Belize express water service. They have been granted a one year service to start doing business on July eighteenth.
Myron Marin, Co-owner – Belize Water Taxi Terminal
“The misunderstanding to me is just basically having my terminal besides theirs and I have seen the news and listened to the people calling in on the radio stations and so on. The problem is just the location and I don’t see why that is the problem. They said they welcome competition and competition is good for everybody and why now if I come beside them that is a problem. Competition to me is competition regardless of where we are.
A Port Authority boat is dealing with the river and creating a lane, a 100 foot lane, for us to accommodate our vessels. We’re going to be limited to an amount of vessels, I think it is supposed to be two vessels, I am not sure if it is that, either one or two vessels at some point that I am allowed to have behind my terminal and I think they’re going to have the same.”
The Belize Water Taxi Terminal was granted the one year’s permit to operate the San Pedro Belize express run under certain stipulations. Those include that it can only berth vessels at its own wharf, that it cannot berth any vessel greater than fifty feet from its wharf among other stipulations.
