Today the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries held the first ever National Fisheries Forum. The event brought together stakeholders, partners and the Government in discussions to contribute to the planning and implementation process for the Fisheries Department. Fisheries Administrator, Beverly Wade told us that the forum is a part of a plan to ensure the viability and sustainable benefits of the Fisheries Industry derive to the people of Belize:
Beverly Wade, Fisheries Administrator
"The primary objective is that we are bringing together all the stakeholders involve in the fishing industry along with government who is the regulatory body to have a discussion on where we are in fisheries, what are some of the approaches we want to know ally from a management perspective and what are the areas we see as potential areas for development for fisheries in Belize. We want to look also at some of the management approaches that we are recommending like the catchier program, we want to look at the whole issue of limiting access into these fishery. The ecosystems approach now which is looking at management from a ecosystems perspective and not just from a species perspective and finally at the end of the day to have a discussion on what are some of our potentials for new opportunities like this morning it was mention- we are looking at a crab fishery, we are looking at the culturing of seaweed, we are looking at a wealth fishery, so it's a combination of where we are, how we want to continue manage these fisheries and what are some of the areas that we see great potential in."
Andrea Polanco
"So some of the stakeholders, some of the coops from across the country, I see people here from Placencia, from the North, what are some of the things that they can take back?"
Beverly Wade, Fisheries Administrator
"Well they will have a better understanding of the status of that resource that they are actually going out every day and harvesting; one, they will have a greater appreciation of why we have to apply management to these fisheries because they should continue to benefit from them and thirdly they will have an idea of what are some of the opportunities, they will have something to look forward to. They will have an idea of things we are looking at and we would hope that they start thinking about how they could now participate in those new areas."
The forum is expected to yield clear recommendations that will be integrated in the Development and Management Plan for the Fisheries Department in the new fiscal year.
