Fishers from Placencia are up in arms after the Ministry of Natural Resources quietly lifted the temporary suspension on dredging at the area known as the Will Bauer Flats.
In the letter, the developer, William Logan is telling the Inspector of Mines about a meeting they both had with the aggrieved stakeholders.
Well, those stakeholders - who are all fisherfolk from Placencia - appeared on Sunup yesterday to say they were not consulted and they do not approve:
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"There was, fortunately, a suspension, and we talk about that, a suspension of dredging. And the minister went on air and said, we did that so they could have met with the concerned citizen of Belize."
"Fast forward now to the fifth of May, I got an email, and it's simply state that the dredging suspension have been lifted. We didn't give the time to say our stand. So it fast forward to the fifth of May, the lift have been granted, meaning they lift the suspension."
"We're talking a lot of crap about climate change and climate crisis. We're racing against climate crisis to see how much we could damage more than that. Imagine we're paying millions,- this makes any sense, whereby we're destroying, because what I am seeing climate change is doing is very significant. But what I see the human hand with the..."
The fishers - and a marine biologist - underscored the importance of the flats and explained why - for them - it's non negotiable that it must remain untouched:
Lincoln Westby, Fly Fish Guide
"That it's an important flat to this country, to the fly fishermen. It's sort of a nursery, because you'll find a lot of young bonefish there, and young permit, which a permit is worth like US$280,000 to this country alive."
"And if you dredge that flat, it's going to destroy everything."
Dr Addiel Perez, Fisheries Scientist/Program Manager, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
"This is not just about the flat fishing guy. This is about everyone, or it should be about everyone, that generates an income from this, right? Hotels, fishing lodges, they employ people in the kitchen, in cooks, waitresses, receptionists, accountants, et cetera. All of those individuals are getting an income, and that is trickling down to every Belizean."
"So economically and socially, this is a very important fishery. Now, when it comes to ecological, now what that means, or what this lifting of the dredging means in that, now, if this occurs, important nursery grounds are going to be destroyed, right?"
"And this is the part in science that is not included when these projects are evaluated. In other words, local knowledge from people in science is important. And a lot of the science right now, especially when it comes to conservation and management, needs to consider local knowledge."
"It's not about just a biological thing of a fish being there or not. You have to gather that information from the people like Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Eworth, Mr. Castillo, because these are the individuals that have been there for years, and they know."
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"It's where the conch, fish, the lobster, grow up. That is what they need, they don't spawn there, but they have food, they got housing and they got place to practice to get big. You are selling their souls. It's equivalent to burning a hundred dollar note in searching for a dollar."
Host
"What action are you taking to address this lift of the dredging suspension?"
Norman Castillo, Hopkins Fishermen Accoc.
"No, we have decided that we're going out there. As they start to do the mobilization, we will mobilize. We're going out there, and we say no to it, no to it."
This evening we learned that Cabinet reviewed the matter today and the dredging has been suspended again pending a further decision by Cabinet.
