Last night, we showed what the fisherfolk of the Belize Fishermen Cooperative Association had to say about the distress they find themselves in after Hurricane Lisa wiped out their fishing camps at sea two weeks ago.
They are pleading with the government for aid to replace their fishing gears which were washed away.
Yesterday, we spoke to Norris Meighan, a career fisherman with about 50 years of experience in the industry. He told us that the category one hurricane was the latest in a series of pressures that have been plaguing fisherfolk.
Interestingly, Meighan has been observing the environment around his fishing camp for years now. He has come to the conclusion that climate change and the increase in temperatures of the sea spaces around the islands he and his sons operate have driven away the lobster, conch, and shrimp that were once in abundance.
He says that these coveted marine animals are searching for cooler waters, which means that they are moving into deeper waters, further and further away from the mainland. Meighan made the point yesterday that he doesn't need world leaders at COP-27 in Egypt to confirm that climate change is presently threatening his livelihood:
