Eworth Garbutt is fighting to preserve the Willa Bauer Flats - and that means generating as much press as possible to try to get the attention of decision makers in Belmopan. That's why the president of the Belize fly fishing association appeared on SunUp this morning, to give us an update on the current situation out at the Flats. Garbutt refuses to let up anytime soon and this morning he went into detail as to why.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"And it can't be more detrimental from the 14th of May, I got a phone call secondhand lip service saying that there's a suspension back again. Lip service in our second hand. We still haven't heard directly Myself, who represents the sport fisher at this wonderful nation, and even the world. You got Mr. Strings, the name say it all. This man represent all the fishers of Belize, the commercial sector. Neither of us haven't.
"Mr. Strings, you got a phone call from any high level, or any... It's a shame. The dredging suspension have been lifted, or banned. This is beyond dredging, you know. Picture this right now, a flat is so unique, we are talking about the biodiversity, the whole thing where the fish then grow up and the habitat."
"Guys, there is no way you could destroy a flat the right way, make any sense? Just as there's no right way to do it at the wrong location. No matter, my point I was getting, even if they don't use an actual dredge and bring the sand from moon, because this is an environmental sand, you cannot put it top of the flat because you're gonna destroy it."
"So if they're planning right now, they will barge in the stuff strings, it's won't be accepted left, right, center, no matter what they do, won't be sustainable to have that flat for the present and next generation. It just can't."
