Published by Development - On 17 February 2010

Though we send monthly reports to the Fisheries Department and we believe that Ms. Wade reads our reports, it was good to have her visit with us this week.

During her visit, our Marine Manager, Seleem Chan had an opportunity to speak about the day to day management of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. He spoke about the Park rangers and their dedication to the protection of our marine resources. Seleem commended our young park rangers for the passion they display in doing their duties. Ms. Wade shared information on the recent fisheries legislation regarding licensing of fishers and it was good to find out that fishers in the future will need to reside in Belize for at least six months before applying for a fishing license. This may mean, of course, that in a few months, fishers from our neighbouring countries may decide to relocate to Belize in order to get fishing licenses. Or, they may choose to fish illegally so the challenge goes on, as late Andy Palacio says in one of his songs.

Dr. Nicola Foster, our marine biologist, eloquently explained the TIDE Science Program and Ms. Wade commended her for the regular ‘reader friendly’ monitoring reports. Dr. Foster gave an update on the processes we have taken in the revision of the PHMR management plan and future plans that will involve stakeholder participation. We spoke briefly about the recent community meeting in Monkey River where the PHMR data was presented and the community's reaction was very positive.

It was really pleasing to hear that the attendance was good and that the community asked for more of these sessions.

Finally, Joe Villafranco, our Program Manager, shared information about TIDE’s Terrestrial Program and bragged about our recent Community Stewards Program that really fits well with our mission of engaging communities in the management of natural resources. He gave information on what TIDE is doing with fire management, monitoring of water quality, and biodiversity in the Paynes Creek National Park and TIDE Private Protected Lands.

We look forward to more visits like these as we love to share the work we do at TIDE.