Earlier this week, conservation umbrella group APAMO expressed concern over a new statutory instrument that allows Belizean permanent residents to obtain a fisherman's license. The release says that this puts additional strain on already depleted fishing stock and cheats Belizean fisher folk out of an already limited resource.
In response to the concerns, yesterday the Fisheries Advisory Board which comprises all fishing industry stakeholders met to discuss the issue. They decided to pursue a compromise strategy where those 100 or so permanent residents who had licenses before they were made illegal in April of last year can now have their licenses renewed. However, no new licenses will be issued to anyone. That is until a study is conducted to determine the state of Belize's fish stock, which will answer that eternally burning question: how many fish are there in the sea? Once that is determined in about 8 months, the Fisheries Department will devise a management strategy to keep the fish stock at sustainable levels and licenses will be apportioned according to the plan.
