25 Guat boats engaged in prohibited gill net fishing in Belize’s waters: BTV

The Belize-Guatemala differendum is off the front-burner—at least for now—but one group, the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV), is using the nationalistic focus of the month of September to keep the spotlight on Belize’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This weekend the group came face-to-face with the reality on the ground – that whereas the Belize Constitution affirms the existence of a natural border midway of the Sarstoon River in Southern Belize, up to Gracias a Dios Falls, that border is still being ignored by the Guatemalans, some of whom they found engaged in prohibited gill net fishing activities on the northern side of the river.

This Sunday, Wil Maheia, BTV founder, led a team of about 20 Belizeans, carrying large flags, to the Sarstoon Island, which is located north of the midway point of the Sarstoon River – the midway point being the dividing line between the neighboring territories of Belize and Guatemala.

The group, which boarded a boat at Punta Gorda, arrived at the Sarstoon around 9:00 on Sunday morning and observed at least 25 boats being used in illegal gill net fishing operations, Maheia reported.

“I am 100% certain they were not Belizeans…” Maheia said.

“What surprised me was the amount [of people fishing]. Usually you would see two, three of them… I wonder if it’s a Sunday thing,” he added.

Amandala contacted fisheries authorities in Punta Gorda, who indicated to us that they investigated the report on Monday, but found no one. We were told that whereas illegal fishing has been ongoing in the area, the last arrest made at that location was roughly 5 years ago. The Belize Defence Force, which patrols that area on Tuesdays, handed over a gill net last year to the Fisheries office.

Indications to our newspaper are that Belizean authorities are aware that the illegal fishing continues in the Sarstoon, but surveillance there is impacted by the territorial differendum between Belize and Guatemala, and law enforcement are advised that they should be “careful” so as not to create international incidents.

We were also told that the illegal fishers are, likewise, aware of their encroachments because when they do see Belize law enforcement authorities, they paddle away enough to be outside the Belize jurisdiction.

The BTV’s presence on Sunday did not act as a deterrent, though. The mostly Hispanic fishers, many of whom use unmarked boats, kept on fishing. They had gill nets which appeared to be in top condition – suggesting that they are well-financed and working in an organized fashion for a contractor, Maheia observed.

More than that, BTV reports that the activities were being done in plain view of Guatemala military officers – who “brazenly drove their boat into Belize, well-armed and questioned us.”

Back in 2009, the Guatemalan Armed Forces stopped Belize Defence Force officers from using the southern channel of the Sarstoon, which is the southern boundary between Belize and Guatemala, telling them to instead use the northern channel, north of the Sarstoon Island, and which is included in Belize’s territory, as defined under the 1859 Treaty and the Belize Constitution.

Recounting what transpired when they arrived this Sunday morning at Sarstoon Island, Maheia said: “We circled the island and noticed that suddenly a Guatemalan group showed up and started looking at us with binoculars. They jumped into a boat and moved across the borderline. They passed the island, drove up to us and said: ‘What are you doing here?’”

The lead military officer, who spoke in Spanish, was also communicating with someone via cell phone, Maheia said. The other officers showed serious faces.

“For how long will you be here?” the officer asked.

Maheia replied that they would stay a few minutes.

The Guatemala military took photos of the BTV before driving their boat back to the Guatemala side, from where they continued to observe the BTV’s activities, he added.

After this encounter, the BTV left a flag at the location and returned to Belize.

According to Maheia, this is the first time the BTV has had this kind of exchange with the Guatemala military.

The BTV has also done flag raising expeditions at Jalacte. This year’s expedition was to take place at San Benito Poite; however, rainy weather forced a change of location, Maheia said.

“We do this flag-raising thing every year in the spirit of the celebration and to let the world know, ‘Yes! We have a border!’” he commented on his Facebook timeline.

Amandala asked Maheia: How do you interpret what happened on Sunday?

“It means we have to continue to press, as citizens of Belize, and press our government to demarcate and patrol our border,” he replied.

Asked whether the BTV would report the activities to Belizean authorities, Maheia said, “We have sent them numerous letters and correspondence on our activities, and we have not heard anything back. It is a waste of time to send anything to them.”

He said that the BTV will first meet before deciding its next move.

Maheia also pointed to the need to address illegal activities which continue to be reported inside the Columbia Forest Reserve, also in Toledo.