A Sarteneja fisherman was busted with 15 filet conchs during the closed season. It happened a week ago just after 7:00pm, right here in Belize City along the foreshore seawall behind the High Court Building. According to fisheries officers, 31 year old Jose Equizabal was caught attempting to discard the conchs from the seawall into the water. He appeared in the Belize city magistrates court this afternoon and pleaded guilty to having conch during the closed season, and obstruction. The first time offender pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined almost four thousand dollars but told the judge that one of the fisheries officers pointed a gun at him during his detention.
Outside the court, he alleged that numerous bribes have been paid to fisheries enforcement officers over the past few weeks and he was the only one who refused to pay off anyone and that's how he ended up in court.
Jose Equizabal, Charged for Fisheries Offences
"I am not the only one that they have catch with lobster or conch. At that time. In the same night they caught somebody else and they paid $500 for them not to take them to court and that's not fair."
Reporter
"So you are saying that..."
Jose Equizabal, Charged for Fisheries Offences
"It's very corrupt in here."
Reporter
"You are saying that Fisheries officers were bribed? Is that what you are saying?"
Jose Equizabal, Charged for Fisheries Offences
"Yes, I have proof of that. They charged another boat that they catch like 3 weeks before and they charged $3,000."
Reporter
"Have you brought this to the attention of anybody within the department?"
Jose Equizabal, Charged for Fisheries Offences
"Sometimes I am kind of afraid because corruption is everywhere. Corruption is everywhere. The same night they caught someone with crab and they charge that man $500 so that he doesn't come to court."
"They catch someone on Sarteneja with over a thousand Mexican shrimps on the same thing, that didn't went to court. none at all."
Reporter
"So only you get charged and brought to court?"
Jose Equizabal, Charged for Fisheries Offences
"Yes, on the 19th. That's not fair, that's corruption."
We did speak with enforcement officer Hampton Gamboa who said he was on the bust and that they did use their weapons because they saw unknown characters involved in what was clearly an out of season conch smuggling operation. As for the allegation that fishers with crab paid a bribe - he says they did give one of their own fellow fishers five hundred dollars to speak to the fisheries officers - which he says was not paid to these officers Instead those crab fishers were let off without a charge and only a warning since they had half a crab and a claw each.
We stress that Conch season will open on Sunday, October 1st - and it is illegal to buy or possess conch before that.
