June 11, 2015 — Belize just redefined marine conservation, entrusting its fishermen with a nationwide system of multi-species fishing rights for all its coastal fishing waters.
This landmark decision is a victory for communities on Belize’s Caribbean shore, allowing fishermen to create more food and jobs on land by replenishing more life and diversity in their seas.
But Belize’s move also has implications for the rest of the world. The government blazed a pioneering trail, with a powerful example that may prove a tipping point for sustainable harvests of coastal fisheries anywhere.
Scaling up a proven system of fishing rights
For years, seafood harvesters off Alaska, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Namibia, Norway and New Zealand enjoyed advantages their tropical colleagues lacked: secure fishing rights.
Empowering fisherfolk with rights brought dramatic gains for biodiversity, food provision and coastal communities in temperate waters. It transformed fishermen into responsible, long-term stewards of the sea. And recovering fish populations reward adherence to limits with longer seasons, lower risks, higher revenues, better product and more full-time jobs.