Illegal Longlines Discovered Inside Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve

A joint patrol inside the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve has led to the alarming discovery of illegal longlines being used in Belizean waters, raising fresh concerns over unsustainable fishing practices and threats to marine life.  The discovery was made last Friday during a routine patrol involving the Belize Territorial Volunteers, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment, and members of the Belize Coast Guard. According to reports, the boat captain first noticed a suspicious plastic bottle floating in the water. When the team investigated further, they discovered that the bottle was attached to a long fishing line extending roughly twenty feet beneath the surface.  Authorities say four separate longlines were found inside the protected reserve. Longline fishing involves the use of lengthy lines fitted with multiple baited hooks and is widely considered harmful to marine ecosystems because of the risk it poses to non-target species and sensitive habitats.  In Belize, the use of longlines in protected areas is prohibited. Leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, Wil Maheia, spoke with Love News, stressing the damaging effects of longlines and other illegal fishing methods on Belize’s marine resources.

Will Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers: “Longlines now is illegal in the marine reserve and it is a destructive and unsustainable form of fishing. We know that the government of Belize has put a ban on gill net and I’m sure on longlines especially within the reserve. So we want to make sure that these things don’t happen because it destroys our marine ecosystem. As you can see from the video footage, when we were picking up the long lines they were set over the reef, they were catching a lot of the reef fish and they were hooking up on the corals. And when you pull those up, you tend to destroy the coral. So we want to protect our Belize Barrier Reef. We want to protect all the reef systems within our country. So that’s one of the reasons why we continue to patrol and monitor and pull up these long lines and gill nets whenever we see them.”

Maheia also emphasized the importance of stronger collaboration between enforcement agencies and environmental organizations, noting that joint patrols help deter illegal fishing activity in protected waters.

Will Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers: “On that one day we found a total of four long lines and that long lines were found in the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. Inside the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. And again, I want to applaud TIDE for doing a great job out there. But I just think that they need TIDE and the Belize Coast Guard, but there need to be more collaboration. There need to be more boats on the waters. Yes, they have boats but those boats need to be on the water just out there. They don’t even really have to be moving a lot but they can’t be tied to the dock all the time. They can’t be on the Hunting Caye all the time. They need to spend a lot of time on the water so that people who are involved in these illegal activities know that people are out there watching. Most of these illegal activities, especially with the unsustainable fishing practices, long lines and gill nets, are done by Guatemalans or Honduranians. you know the Sapodilla Cayes Marine reserve is right next to the border with Guatemala and Honduras. So we strongly believe that the people doing this is from across the border. So we want Belizeans and we know that the Belizean fishermen they are alert whenever they see these activities to report it to TIDE and show the location where it’s at so that TIDE could move in and you know pull them up and get them out of the water because they’re very destructive.”

Authorities are now encouraging members of the public, especially those working at sea, to report any suspicious activity in protected areas as efforts continue to safeguard Belize’s marine resources for future generations.