July 19, 2009
Dear Editor,
During the recent disclosures with respect to the Barrier Reef dying, a number of causes were attributed to the death of Belizean coral. There was one significant cause that was apparently either not known, or overlooked by the writers. The cause was the effect that trawlers have had on the destruction of Belize’s coral.
Trawlers, often referred to as drag boats, create great clouds of sediment that boil to the surface, thereafter, settling on and stifling coral and other marine life, bringing about death to much of what it settles on.
The trawlers pull behind them large open throat nets weighted down at the bottom of their forward end by a heavy chain. The chain digs into the bottom as the trawler pulls ahead. The chain destroys any coral in its path and causes great clouds of sediments to rise to the surface. Such sediment can be seen floating for hundreds of feet behind the trawler and as much as 100 feet each side of the path of the trawler.
The sediment eventually settles back down, killing much of that which it settles on. The trawlers not only bring about the destruction of coral; they have effectively destroyed much of Belize’s fisheries.
The trawlers drag the bottom to catch shrimp. In doing so, they scoop up and catch different species of fish and other forms of marine life. The catch that their nets scoop up, other than legal- size shrimp, is referred to as by-catch.
By-catch is dumped back into the water, dead or dying. Crew members have described by-catch as being as high as 15 to 1. That is, if the net brings up 100 pounds of legal-size shrimp there will be 1,500 pounds of fish or other marine life that is brought to the vessels’ deck and thereafter dumped back into the water, dead or dying.
The Chief Scientist of the National Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded “trawling is like bulldozing a forest to catch songbirds.” Scientists have compared trawling to “clear cutting forests,” which alludes to the fact that trawling destroys everything and leaves nothing.
Dr. Gary Neffe of the University of Florida has claimed that trawling “is one of the most damaging kinds of habitat destruction on earth”. Repeated trawling has been compared to plowing a field.
Trawling has helped deplete Belize’s fisheries to where it has destroyed the livelihood of many Belizean fishermen. The trawlers have pulled their nets through areas that constitute the nursery grounds for juvenile fish. They have thereby destroyed millions of young fish before they became large enough to reproduce (spawn).
Trawling has been outlawed in many nations. Others nations have restricted trawling to waters with a depth in excess of 60 meters. Under such rules, Belize’s trawling would be outlawed as shallow water trawling.
The history of trawlers in Belize is one of intrigue, selfishness, greed and questionable excess of political power and influence. Are such problems to continue? The present Minister of Fisheries has been in office since the last national election and nothing has been done to correct the devastating problem that plagues Belize’s environment and fisheries.
The trawlers originally came from Honduras. After they destroyed the fisheries in Honduras, the trawlers moved to Nicaraguan waters. When the Sandanistas took over power, they were intelligent enough to ban trawling and force the trawlers out of Nicaraguan waters. Belize was foolish enough to let the trawlers be brought in, to damage Belize’s environment and destroy much of Belize’s fisheries.
Will those the voters have entrusted with the country’s welfare prevent further destruction by trawlers? Or is it going to be politics as usual and to hell with the environment and the interest of the people? If the Minister of Fisheries doesn’t take immediate action to cause trawlers and trawling to be banned, he should immediately give his reasoning to the voters, explaining why.
Kenneth Gale