ANCHOR LINES SUMMER 2017 TAT has recently welcomed Nigel Martinez to our staff in Belize. For the past four years, Nigel has worked in his spare time as the Executive Director for the Belize Federation of Fishers (BFF) while working for the Belize Airport Authority. As a full-time employee of TAT, Nigel will have the time required to effectively oversee BFF and ensure its success. BFF is Belize's only national organization representing commercial fishermen and it is the umbrella organization for several regional associa- tions. Its primary mandates are education and advocacy for issues impacting fishermen, including habitat protection, and capacity building for local associations. With Nigel's increased time com- mitment, BFF should be able to improve its ability to provide a united voice and be the point of action for issues related to Be- lize's commercial fishermen and the communities that depend up- on them. It's important to note that BFF will remain fully inde- pendent and without input or influence from Turneffe Atoll Trust. A major part of Turneffe Atoll Trust's mission is preserving Turneffe's incredible habitat which supports a thriving eco- tourism sector and a produc- tive artisanal fishery. To help us protect Turneffe's habitat, we recently formed the Fishermen and Ecotourism Alliance (FETA) to advocate for habitat protection for the benefit of Turneffe’s two larg- est stakeholder groups - ecotourism and commercial fishing. We see FETA as a vibrant and symbiotic alliance with fishermen offering local expertize and political influence while the ecotourism sector is able to pro- vide international contacts and vital funding. Similar alliances have been useful in other conservation ef- forts such as the campaign to save the Alaskan Bristol Bay from destructive mining. Nigel Martinez's other primary responsibility will be overseeing FETA. He is currently working on plans for a major meeting of Turneffe's commercial fishermen and ecotourism personnel which will be funded through a grant from Fly Fishers International and FISHERMAN’S ECO-TOURISM ALLIANCE
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ANCHOR LINES SUMMER 2017
TAT has recently welcomed Nigel Martinez to our staff in Belize. For the past four years, Nigel has
worked in his spare time as the Executive Director for the Belize Federation of Fishers (BFF) while
working for the Belize Airport Authority.
As a full-time employee of TAT, Nigel will have the time required to effectively oversee BFF and ensure its success. BFF is Belize's only national organization representing commercial fishermen
and it is the umbrella organization for several regional associa-tions. Its primary mandates are education and advocacy for issues
impacting fishermen, including habitat protection, and capacity building for local associations. With Nigel's increased time com-
mitment, BFF should be able to improve its ability to provide a united voice and be the point of action for issues related to Be-
lize's commercial fishermen and the communities that depend up-on them. It's important to note that BFF will remain fully inde-pendent and without input or influence from Turneffe Atoll Trust.
A major part of Turneffe Atoll
Trust's mission is preserving
Turneffe's incredible habitat
which supports a thriving eco-
tourism sector and a produc-
tive artisanal fishery. To help us protect Turneffe's habitat, we recently formed the Fishermen and
Ecotourism Alliance (FETA) to advocate for habitat protection for the benefit of Turneffe’s two larg-
est stakeholder groups - ecotourism and commercial fishing.
We see FETA as a vibrant and symbiotic alliance with fishermen offering local expertize and political
influence while the ecotourism sector is able to pro-
vide international contacts and vital funding. Similar
alliances have been useful in other conservation ef-
forts such as the campaign to save the Alaskan Bristol
Bay from destructive mining.
Nigel Martinez's other primary responsibility will be
overseeing FETA. He is currently working on plans for
a major meeting of Turneffe's commercial fishermen
and ecotourism personnel which will be funded
through a grant from Fly Fishers International and
FISHERMAN’S ECO-TOURISM ALLIANCE
support from TAT. The meeting will likely take place in Sep-
tember or October in conjunction with the BFF Annual General
Meeting allowing FETA members the opportunity to network
and build relationships with fishermen from all over Belize.
As we move forward with FETA, we intend to hold educational
sessions on sustainable fishing, tourism and the sustainable
development of Turneffe Atoll. We will work on finding and
funding addition-
al ways to jointly
protect Turneffe's habitat, which may include public re-
lations campaigns and legal challenges when warranted.
Feedback across Belize has been very positive for Nigel's move to TAT and the improved management of both
BFF and FETA. Martinez notes: "It will be a great pleas-ure to be able to dedicate my time and energy to the fishermen of Belize and the habitat that they, and so
many Belizeans, rely upon,"
In late 2015, developers and Belizean governmen-
tal agencies violated several environmental laws
and regulations in approving an overtly destruc-
tive development on Turneffe. Before it could be
stopped, five acres of mangroves were deforested and a lagoon was dredged in the middle of the
property. TAT brought a legal challenge and a stop order was issued in January of 2016. Recently, a
Consent Order was accepted by the Supreme Court in Belize declaring the Environmental Compliance
Plan for this project to be "null and void". This is a major victory for Turneffe and for Turneffe Atoll
Trust's efforts in protecting
Turneffe.
Regrettably, significant dam-
age has been done and some
development may yet occur at
this site. The importance of
our legal action, however, has
been to solidifying some legal
issues related to development
within the Turneffe Atoll Ma-
rine Reserve and establishing
some important precedents.
We are aware that other de-
CONSERVATION OVERSIGHT
velopments have been placed on hold pending
this action and we are also aware that the Lands
Department has been informing people interest-
ed in purchasing land at Turneffe that they
should be aware that there are special require-
ments for development within the Turneffe Atoll
Marine Reserve.
TAT recently finished a detailed analysis of sever-
al past destructive developments at Turneffe, in-
cluding a 96 room hotel complex on Ropewalk
Caye. This analysis, which is available to all inter-
ested parties, addresses environmental and eco-
nomic consequences of these ill-advised develop-
ments and also summarizes the environmental
laws, regulations and recommendations that were circumvented.
TAT recently initiated a project to draft a manual for all those interested in development at Turneffe. This manual will compile the laws, regulations and guidelines for development on the atoll.. Environ-
mental laws and policies affecting development on Turneffe are sometimes difficult to access and evaluate. They involve multiple ministries and governmental agencies, in addition to the Marine Re-serve, and this often leads to confusion and misinformed decisions. This comprehensive summary of
the laws, regulations and policies affecting development at Turneffe Atoll is needed and success would mean a comprehensive and readily available manual to guide both developers and agencies.
We are seeking additional
funding to complete our
baseline analyses of Turn-
effe's Queen Conch and spiny lobster populations. This will include vigorous
monitoring programs and genetic analyses of both species. This research is
essential to understand the effectiveness of fisheries management interven-
tions and to verify Turneffe as a sustainable fishery.
We have completed the major por-
tion of the conch baseline analysis and we now seek to complete the genetic component so that the par-
ent stock of Turneffe conch can be identified and protected. Spiny lobster is the major fisheries product from Turneffe
and a similar baseline analysis is needed. Our objective is to determine the best technical approach for accomplishing
this project. We are seeking funding for these projects..
RESEARCH
We encourage you to watch Chasing Coral on Net-flix. This new film documents the perils of climate
change, a major threat to coral reefs globally. It also follows the tragic bleaching of the Great Bar-
rier Reef, which has been reduced to a third of its
former glory. In fact, the Mesoamerican Reef Sys-tem, which includes Turneffe Atoll, now contains
more living reef than the Great Barrier Reef. We need to do everything possible to save the portion of the World's reefs that remain and mitigate the
effects of the factors damaging our reefs including climate change and destructive development.
NEWS
Turneffe Atoll is part of the 20% of living coral
reef remaining in the Caribbean. That's right,
80% of Caribbean coral reefs are already gone.
Turneffe is one of the last wild coastal ecosys-
tems in the Caribbean and our ability to protect Turneffe from a host of threats largely depends upon
the support of those who have visited Turneffe, who understand its importance, who appreciate its
gifts, and who wish to see this most extraordinary place protected. As we all know, the reef is essen-
tial for the activities that we all enjoy so much including flats fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling.
If you would like to explore how you can make a permanent
impact on the protection of Turneffe Atoll, contact Conrad at