Belize

My subject for Belize is Nicanor Requena. Nic has more than 20 years working on marine conservation and fisheries management projects in Belize and Mesoamerican Reef region.

Geography

Belize is a Caribbean country located on the northeastern coast of Central America. Belize borders Mexico to the north, Caribbean Sea to the east and Guatemala to the south. The Mesoamerican Reef runs along the length of the coast of Belize and is the second largest coral reef after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and is the largest in the Northern hemisphere

Source Wikipedia

Environmental issues

The major threats to Belize’s marine ecosystems include coral degradation (includes stony coral tissue loss disease, coral bleaching, loss of key herbivores), loss of mangroves, overfishing, unsustainable coastal development, solid waste (plastics), sewage, agriculture residues and climate change including hurricanes

About Nic

Belize has one of the most progressive fisheries policies in the world having zoned all its territorial waters in to 9 areas with fishers choosing only 2 areas. The other areas are allowed to replenish.

Nic has been at the heart of this policy over the last 20 years and is passionate about engaging communities to make sustainable decisions that allow the un-fished zones to replenish

Nic has been directly involved in the identification, monitoring and protection of 13 of Belize’s most important reef fish spawning aggregation sites. Some fish species aggregate to spawn and do so at certain times and places. Work has been done to understand when and where these fish need to be left alone as they are particularly vulnerable to overfishing