Nakita Dookie, Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Georgetown (2015)

 Belize City, Belize, 29 December 2015 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the International Ocean Institute (IOI) this month signed a new 5-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to extend their longstanding cooperation towards building the capacity of Caribbean fisheries and marine resource management professionals in ocean governance. The partnership between the CRFM and IOI started in 2004 and it has provided nearly 40 Caribbean nationals access to high-level, specialized training and capacity-building support at IOI-Dalhousie University every year since then.

The renewed cooperation agreement, signed for the CRFM by Executive Director Milton Haughton and for IOI by Managing Director of its Malta headquarters, Antonella Vassallo, ensures that Caribbean nationals will continue to receive expert training on Ocean Governance: Policy, Law and Management at the Canada-based institute.

Commenting on the agreement, the CRFM’s Executive Director, said: “We are very pleased to have concluded this new MoU with IOI, one of our key international development partners. The specialized training provided by IOI in marine policy, law and marine management is very important for the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean that depend heavily on the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean for economic development. The need for this type of training in the region is great. Through our partnership with IOI, we have been able to gradually build up our capacity to utilize, protect and manage our coastal and marine resources.”

Mitchell Lay, Coordinator, Caribbean Network of Fisher Folk Organizations, (2012)

Nominations have just closed for the 36^th annual training at IOI-Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, which is set to convene next year, from 18 May 2016 to 15 July 2016. Each year, there are spaces for two to five candidates from CRFM Member States to participate in the course, which emphasizes the importance of viewing the ocean as a system with varied users and multiple, often competing and conflicting, uses.

According to the IOI, the course “…aims to increase awareness of the fact that ocean management requires broad interdisciplinary skills, new institutional and legal infrastructures, and new forms of intergovernmental and non-governmental organization and cooperation at the local, national and international levels.”

Earlier this year, two fisheries professionals, Frederick Arnett II, Assistant Fisheries Officer of the Bahamas and Nakita Dookie, Fisheries Officer of Guyana, attended the training, which consists of over 200 hours in the classroom and includes lectures, interactive discussions, field trips, simulations and exercises, individual participant presentations, and an international round table.

In the spirit of the recently signed MoU between the CRFM and IOI, successful nominees are awarded a scholarship from IOI for the accommodation, meals and tuition in Canada during the training, while the CRFM covers the cost of return airfare and other travel expenses.

Under the MoU, the parties will also continue to assess the region’s capacity-building needs, both on the national and regional levels, and work together to offer further relevant training and capacity-building opportunities.

 Mauro Gongora, Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Department, Belize (2014

 BELIZE CITY, 12 December 2015 (CRFM)--Some fear that climate change and global economic pressures will create a toxic mix that would cripple the potential of the Caribbean fisheries and aquaculture sector, but a new initiative being implemented by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is looking for that “golden key” that would, instead, unlock the industry’s hidden potential for all concerned; thus improving the contribution of fisheries to the region’s economic development. This should ensure that both suppliers and buyers have more money in their pockets, as they keep the resource base on a healthy and sustainable footing.

A newly launched project will over the next year bring together key public and private actors in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, to optimize the benefits across the value chain – from the fishers who set their traps to reap the ocean’s bounty to the buyers who search for the most economical catch to serve up an impressive meal.

Towards this end, the CRFM led a planning meeting in Grenada from 7-9 December 2015 to jumpstart the organization of a regional training and capacity building workshop on the Value Chain Approach in Caribbean Fisheries. The workshop will take place in July 2016.

The initiative is geared towards building capacity among key government and private sector representatives, and in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in fisheries and aquaculture, to use the value chain approach to optimize economic benefits. The value chain approach looks at every operational level in the industry, including production, processing, distribution on the local and export markets, as well as marketing and sales to wholesale agents and retail buyers.

Chief or Senior Fisheries Officers and private sector representatives from the 17 CRFM Member States will have an opportunity to participate in the training, which will be delivered by the CRFM, UNU-FTP, and the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago campus.

Personnel from the CRFM, UWI, UNU-FTP, the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI) in Trinidad and Tobago; the University of Iceland, and the University of Akureyri in Iceland are part of the planning team which is developing the course program and follow-up activities.

Last week, the team began discussions to formulate the course outline and content, identify the status of supply and value chains in the region, and discuss the data available in the region that is necessary to conduct a value chain analysis. The team will also develop representative case studies, as well as training material and a manual for use in the regional training workshop.

The industry-oriented training will be followed by the development of short-term and medium-term action plans for implementation of the value chain in selected pilot studies within CRFM Member States.

In group photo: (l-r) Mr. Milton Haughton, Executive Director, CRFM Secretariat; Dr. Thor Dadi Kristofersson, University of Iceland; Dr. Clement Iton, UWI; Dr. Sharon Hutchinson, UWI; Ms. Tullia Ible, CFTDI; Dr Ogmundur Knutsson, University of Akureyri, Iceland; and Mr. Justin Rennie, Chief Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Division, Grenada

BELIZE CITY, 12 December 2015 (CRFM)--Some fear that climate change and global economic pressures will create a toxic mix that would cripple the potential of the Caribbean fisheries and aquaculture sector, but a new initiative being implemented by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is looking for that “golden key” that would, instead, unlock the industry’s hidden potential for all concerned; thus improving the contribution of fisheries to the region’s economic development. This should ensure that both suppliers and buyers have more money in their pockets, as they keep the resource base on a healthy and sustainable footing.

A newly launched project will over the next year bring together key public and private actors in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, to optimize the benefits across the value chain – from the fishers who set their traps to reap the ocean’s bounty to the buyers who search for the most economical catch to serve up an impressive meal.

Towards this end, the CRFM led a planning meeting in Grenada from 7-9 December 2015 to jumpstart the organization of a regional training and capacity building workshop on the Value Chain Approach in Caribbean Fisheries. The workshop will take place in July 2016.

The initiative is geared towards building capacity among key government and private sector representatives, and in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in fisheries and aquaculture, to use the value chain approach to optimize economic benefits. The value chain approach looks at every operational level in the industry, including production, processing, distribution on the local and export markets, as well as marketing and sales to wholesale agents and retail buyers.

Chief or Senior Fisheries Officers and private sector representatives from the 17 CRFM Member States will have an opportunity to participate in the training, which will be delivered by the CRFM, UNU-FTP, and the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago campus.

Personnel from the CRFM, UWI, UNU-FTP, the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI) in Trinidad and Tobago; the University of Iceland, and the University of Akureyri in Iceland are part of the planning team which is developing the course program and follow-up activities.

Last week, the team began discussions to formulate the course outline and content, identify the status of supply and value chains in the region, and discuss the data available in the region that is necessary to conduct a value chain analysis. The team will also develop representative case studies, as well as training material and a manual for use in the regional training workshop.

The industry-oriented training will be followed by the development of short-term and medium-term action plans for implementation of the value chain in selected pilot studies within CRFM Member States.

BELIZE CITY, 12 December 2015 (CRFM)--Some fear that climate change and global economic pressures will create a toxic mix that would cripple the potential of the Caribbean fisheries and aquaculture sector, but a new initiative being implemented by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is looking for that “golden key” that would, instead, unlock the industry’s hidden potential for all concerned; thus improving the contribution of fisheries to the region’s economic development. This should ensure that both suppliers and buyers have more money in their pockets, as they keep the resource base on a healthy and sustainable footing.

A newly launched project will over the next year bring together key public and private actors in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, to optimize the benefits across the value chain – from the fishers who set their traps to reap the ocean’s bounty to the buyers who search for the most economical catch to serve up an impressive meal.

Towards this end, the CRFM led a planning meeting in Grenada from 7-9 December 2015 to jumpstart the organization of a regional training and capacity building workshop on the Value Chain Approach in Caribbean Fisheries. The workshop will take place in July 2016.

The initiative is geared towards building capacity among key government and private sector representatives, and in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in fisheries and aquaculture, to use the value chain approach to optimize economic benefits. The value chain approach looks at every operational level in the industry, including production, processing, distribution on the local and export markets, as well as marketing and sales to wholesale agents and retail buyers.

Chief or Senior Fisheries Officers and private sector representatives from the 17 CRFM Member States will have an opportunity to participate in the training, which will be delivered by the CRFM, UNU-FTP, and the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago campus.

Personnel from the CRFM, UWI, UNU-FTP, the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI) in Trinidad and Tobago; the University of Iceland, and the University of Akureyri in Iceland are part of the planning team which is developing the course program and follow-up activities.

Last week, the team began discussions to formulate the course outline and content, identify the status of supply and value chains in the region, and discuss the data available in the region that is necessary to conduct a value chain analysis. The team will also develop representative case studies, as well as training material and a manual for use in the regional training workshop.

The industry-oriented training will be followed by the development of short-term and medium-term action plans for implementation of the value chain in selected pilot studies within CRFM Member States.

Read the report online HERE or download HERE.

Since she was 7 years old, Anna Ramirez, now 63, has been fishing with her family off the coast of Belize’s southernmost district – Toledo, but her gender has not stopped her from working just as hard as the men do while at sea.

Her most challenging moments have involved braving the rough seas, even under the threat of hurricanes, to ensure they make it to shore safely. “It’s not easy. You have to be brave and willing to take chances – big chances too!” she said.

“The same way a man could fish, you can. The same way they drive an engine, you could do it too. The same way they could throw a net, you could throw a net!” Anna says. “It’s the way they raised me,” she later explained.

Mrs. Ramirez has 3 brothers and 7 sisters, and like her brothers—Carlos, Daniel, Eugenio—she took up fishing for a living. She is the daughter of Francisco Castellanos and Petrona Flores, who once lived on several islands off the coast of southern Belize, including Punta Ycacos, Punta Negra and Wilson Caye.

The area where they traditionally fished was declared the Port Honduras Marine Reserve Area in 2000, and today, the family says that the introduction of a managed access program there by the Belize Fisheries Department has notably helped to reduce illegal fishing in the area, thus improving their fish catch. Notably, Mrs. Ramirez was instrumental in the establishment of the reserve.

Anna married Rafael Ramirez, who is also a fisher. They have, in turn, taught their children to fish and five of them are still active: Carlos, George, Roy, Armando, who is the chairman of the Rio Grande Fishermen’s Cooperative in Punta Gorda, and Anna, who is the secretary of the Toledo Fisherman Association and the president of the Toledo Dry Fruit women’s group. Genny, who does scuba diving with the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment – TIDE, does so to a lesser extent. Her other daughter, Claudio Olivarez, lives in Corozal in northern Belize and works as a teacher at a Seventh Day Adventist high school in Calcutta Village.

Mrs. Ramirez said that her biggest reward is having been able to train her children, teaching them what she knows. “It is a very good feeling!” she said.

While the elder Anna no longer routinely fishes, most of her 9 children, including her namesake, still do, and she markets their produce at the Punta Gorda Town market in Toledo, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She does not sell at the market on Saturdays, since she has observed the Sabbath for the past 35-40 years.

She said that her fishing career has made her an independent woman, and she never fails to urge young people to learn the trade so that they too can become independent people.

Although it is rare for a woman to choose a career as a fisher, gender is not the real reason why Anna Ramirez is deemed outstanding. It is her commitment and dedication to hard work, to encouraging the young people to take up the mantle—but moreover, to do so sustainably.

It is for these reasons that she was chosen for special recognition as the winner of the “Punta Fuego Outstanding Fisher of the Year Award,” which was presented on the occasion of the first ever Fisherman’s Day festivities in Belize on Monday, June 29, 2015.

In addition to the Punta Fuego award, she received a cash award from the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), whose Executive Director, Milton Haughton, lauded Mrs. Ramirez, who now stands out as a role model for the entire Caribbean, for her milestone achievement.

Punta Fuego, a drama which airs on Love FM, is also the name of a fictional coastal village in Belize, where Richie, a young fisherman, is put to the test when deceit and danger come to his village.

Mrs. Anna Ramirez was nominated for the award by Marla Ramirez of the Fisheries Department, who described her as, “not only a responsible fisher and advocate but a Belizean sustainable fisher.”

“She has always taught her children to take out what is necessary and put back what is small. She is a strong advocate for size limits on finfish especially snappers and grunts,” said Marla Ramirez. “Mrs. Anna has seen fishing change over the past decades and realizes that it is important to manage the fisheries in a sustainable manner.”

Her sons dive for conch and lobster, but the family also catches a lot of finfish using drop lines or hand lines. Anna said that they don’t use nets anymore because of the regulations introduced to govern fishing at the reserve. She has taught her children to leave the small fish to live and catch the bigger ones.

At the age of 34, the younger Anna is still fishing with her brothers and applying the wisdom her mother taught her. She fishes during the day and attends night school at Claver College Extension. She plans to attend the University of Belize afterwards to be qualified as a nurse, although she doesn’t plan to give up fishing.

Her earnings from fishing are helping her to pay for her education. She may earn BZ$50 to BZ$100 a day, depending on what they catch and how much. The mother of 4 says that this is adequate for her to raise her family.

The younger Anna Ramirez started fishing when she was 13 and she did that until she was 22. Her husband, a tour guide, wanted her to be a homemaker and so she quit fishing for 7 years, but today, Anna, who is now single, is back fishing with her brothers off the shores of Toledo, in the area of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve – the family’s traditional fishing grounds.

Her mother, Mrs. Anna Ramirez, said that she has 33 grandchildren, and those who live in the community also go out to sea, particularly during the summer vacation. Joash Ramirez, 13, her daughter Anna’s son, dives and gets a portion of the family’s earnings to help take care of his school expenses, his mother said, demonstrating how the fishing tradition has been passed down to the fourth generation in her family.

While Mrs. Anna Ramirez is hopeful about the prospect of her grandchildren being able to earn a decent living in the industry, she emphasized the need for authorities to crack down on illegal fishing by foreigners who come from the neighboring countries to the south of Belize. She said that this sort of illegal fishing is currently the greatest threat to the industry.

 (The commemoration of Fisherman's Day in Belize was hosted by the Belize Fisheries Department in collaboration with the CRFM, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations, and the Nature Conservancy.)

Since she was 7 years old, Anna Ramirez, now 63, has been fishing with her family off the coast of Belize’s southernmost district – Toledo, but her gender has not stopped her from working just as hard as the men do while at sea.

Her most challenging moments have involved braving the rough seas, even under the threat of hurricanes, to ensure they make it to shore safely. “It’s not easy. You have to be brave and willing to take chances – big chances too!” she said.

“The same way a man could fish, you can. The same way they drive an engine, you could do it too. The same way they could throw a net, you could throw a net!” Anna says. “It’s the way they raised me,” she later explained.

Mrs. Ramirez has 3 brothers and 7 sisters, and like her brothers—Carlos, Daniel, Eugenio—she took up fishing for a living. She is the daughter of Francisco Castellanos and Petrona Flores, who once lived on several islands off the coast of southern Belize, including Punta Ycacos, Punta Negra and Wilson Caye.

The area where they traditionally fished was declared the Port Honduras Marine Reserve Area in 2000, and today, the family says that the introduction of a managed access program there by the Belize Fisheries Department has notably helped to reduce illegal fishing in the area, thus improving their fish catch. Notably, Mrs. Ramirez was instrumental in the establishment of the reserve.

Anna married Rafael Ramirez, who is also a fisher. They have, in turn, taught their children to fish and five of them are still active: Carlos, George, Roy, Armando, who is the chairman of the Rio Grande Fishermen’s Cooperative in Punta Gorda, and Anna, who is the secretary of the Toledo Fisherman Association and the president of the Toledo Dry Fruit women’s group. Genny, who does scuba diving with the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment – TIDE, does so to a lesser extent. Her other daughter, Claudio Olivarez, lives in Corozal in northern Belize and works as a teacher at a Seventh Day Adventist high school in Calcutta Village.

Mrs. Ramirez said that her biggest reward is having been able to train her children, teaching them what she knows. “It is a very good feeling!” she said.

While the elder Anna no longer routinely fishes, most of her 9 children, including her namesake, still do, and she markets their produce at the Punta Gorda Town market in Toledo, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She does not sell at the market on Saturdays, since she has observed the Sabbath for the past 35-40 years.

She said that her fishing career has made her an independent woman, and she never fails to urge young people to learn the trade so that they too can become independent people.

Although it is rare for a woman to choose a career as a fisher, gender is not the real reason why Anna Ramirez is deemed outstanding. It is her commitment and dedication to hard work, to encouraging the young people to take up the mantle—but moreover, to do so sustainably.

It is for these reasons that she was chosen for special recognition as the winner of the “Punta Fuego Outstanding Fisher of the Year Award,” which was presented on the occasion of the first ever Fisherman’s Day festivities in Belize on Monday, June 29, 2015.

In addition to the Punta Fuego award, she received a cash award from the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), whose Executive Director, Milton Haughton, lauded Mrs. Ramirez, who now stands out as a role model for the entire Caribbean, for her milestone achievement.

Punta Fuego, a drama which airs on Love FM, is also the name of a fictional coastal village in Belize, where Richie, a young fisherman, is put to the test when deceit and danger come to his village.

Mrs. Anna Ramirez was nominated for the award by Marla Ramirez of the Fisheries Department, who described her as, “not only a responsible fisher and advocate but a Belizean sustainable fisher.”

“She has always taught her children to take out what is necessary and put back what is small. She is a strong advocate for size limits on finfish especially snappers and grunts,” said Marla Ramirez. “Mrs. Anna has seen fishing change over the past decades and realizes that it is important to manage the fisheries in a sustainable manner.”

Her sons dive for conch and lobster, but the family also catches a lot of finfish using drop lines or hand lines. Anna said that they don’t use nets anymore because of the regulations introduced to govern fishing at the reserve. She has taught her children to leave the small fish to live and catch the bigger ones.

At the age of 34, the younger Anna is still fishing with her brothers and applying the wisdom her mother taught her. She fishes during the day and attends night school at Claver College Extension. She plans to attend the University of Belize afterwards to be qualified as a nurse, although she doesn’t plan to give up fishing.

[INSERT VIDEO]

Her earnings from fishing are helping her to pay for her education. She may earn BZ$50 to BZ$100 a day, depending on what they catch and how much. The mother of 4 says that this is adequate for her to raise her family.

The younger Anna Ramirez started fishing when she was 13 and she did that until she was 22. Her husband, a tour guide, wanted her to be a homemaker and so she quit fishing for 7 years, but today, Anna, who is now single, is back fishing with her brothers off the shores of Toledo, in the area of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve – the family’s traditional fishing grounds.

Her mother, Mrs. Anna Ramirez, said that she has 33 grandchildren, and those who live in the community also go out to sea, particularly during the summer vacation. Joash Ramirez, 13, her daughter Anna’s son, dives and gets a portion of the family’s earnings to help take care of his school expenses, his mother said, demonstrating how the fishing tradition has been passed down to the fourth generation in her family.

While Mrs. Anna Ramirez is hopeful about the prospect of her grandchildren being able to earn a decent living in the industry, she emphasized the need for authorities to crack down on illegal fishing by foreigners who come from the neighboring countries to the south of Belize. She said that this sort of illegal fishing is currently the greatest threat to the industry.

Since she was 7 years old, Anna Ramirez, now 63, has been fishing with her family off the coast of Belize’s southernmost district – Toledo, but her gender has not stopped her from working just as hard as the men do while at sea.

Her most challenging moments have involved braving the rough seas, even under the threat of hurricanes, to ensure they make it to shore safely. “It’s not easy. You have to be brave and willing to take chances – big chances too!” she said.

“The same way a man could fish, you can. The same way they drive an engine, you could do it too. The same way they could throw a net, you could throw a net!” Anna says. “It’s the way they raised me,” she later explained.

Mrs. Ramirez has 3 brothers and 7 sisters, and like her brothers—Carlos, Daniel, Eugenio—she took up fishing for a living. She is the daughter of Francisco Castellanos and Petrona Flores, who once lived on several islands off the coast of southern Belize, including Punta Ycacos, Punta Negra and Wilson Caye.

The area where they traditionally fished was declared the Port Honduras Marine Reserve Area in 2000, and today, the family says that the introduction of a managed access program there by the Belize Fisheries Department has notably helped to reduce illegal fishing in the area, thus improving their fish catch. Notably, Mrs. Ramirez was instrumental in the establishment of the reserve.

Anna married Rafael Ramirez, who is also a fisher. They have, in turn, taught their children to fish and five of them are still active: Carlos, George, Roy, Armando, who is the chairman of the Rio Grande Fishermen’s Cooperative in Punta Gorda, and Anna, who is the secretary of the Toledo Fisherman Association and the president of the Toledo Dry Fruit women’s group. Genny, who does scuba diving with the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment – TIDE, does so to a lesser extent. Her other daughter, Claudio Olivarez, lives in Corozal in northern Belize and works as a teacher at a Seventh Day Adventist high school in Calcutta Village.

Mrs. Ramirez said that her biggest reward is having been able to train her children, teaching them what she knows. “It is a very good feeling!” she said.

While the elder Anna no longer routinely fishes, most of her 9 children, including her namesake, still do, and she markets their produce at the Punta Gorda Town market in Toledo, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She does not sell at the market on Saturdays, since she has observed the Sabbath for the past 35-40 years.

She said that her fishing career has made her an independent woman, and she never fails to urge young people to learn the trade so that they too can become independent people.

Although it is rare for a woman to choose a career as a fisher, gender is not the real reason why Anna Ramirez is deemed outstanding. It is her commitment and dedication to hard work, to encouraging the young people to take up the mantle—but moreover, to do so sustainably.

It is for these reasons that she was chosen for special recognition as the winner of the “Punta Fuego Outstanding Fisher of the Year Award,” which was presented on the occasion of the first ever Fisherman’s Day festivities in Belize on Monday, June 29, 2015.

In addition to the Punta Fuego award, she received a cash award from the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), whose Executive Director, Milton Haughton, lauded Mrs. Ramirez, who now stands out as a role model for the entire Caribbean, for her milestone achievement.

Punta Fuego, a drama which airs on Love FM, is also the name of a fictional coastal village in Belize, where Richie, a young fisherman, is put to the test when deceit and danger come to his village.

Mrs. Anna Ramirez was nominated for the award by Marla Ramirez of the Fisheries Department, who described her as, “not only a responsible fisher and advocate but a Belizean sustainable fisher.”

“She has always taught her children to take out what is necessary and put back what is small. She is a strong advocate for size limits on finfish especially snappers and grunts,” said Marla Ramirez. “Mrs. Anna has seen fishing change over the past decades and realizes that it is important to manage the fisheries in a sustainable manner.”

Her sons dive for conch and lobster, but the family also catches a lot of finfish using drop lines or hand lines. Anna said that they don’t use nets anymore because of the regulations introduced to govern fishing at the reserve. She has taught her children to leave the small fish to live and catch the bigger ones.

At the age of 34, the younger Anna is still fishing with her brothers and applying the wisdom her mother taught her. She fishes during the day and attends night school at Claver College Extension. She plans to attend the University of Belize afterwards to be qualified as a nurse, although she doesn’t plan to give up fishing.

[INSERT VIDEO]

Her earnings from fishing are helping her to pay for her education. She may earn BZ$50 to BZ$100 a day, depending on what they catch and how much. The mother of 4 says that this is adequate for her to raise her family.

The younger Anna Ramirez started fishing when she was 13 and she did that until she was 22. Her husband, a tour guide, wanted her to be a homemaker and so she quit fishing for 7 years, but today, Anna, who is now single, is back fishing with her brothers off the shores of Toledo, in the area of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve – the family’s traditional fishing grounds.

Her mother, Mrs. Anna Ramirez, said that she has 33 grandchildren, and those who live in the community also go out to sea, particularly during the summer vacation. Joash Ramirez, 13, her daughter Anna’s son, dives and gets a portion of the family’s earnings to help take care of his school expenses, his mother said, demonstrating how the fishing tradition has been passed down to the fourth generation in her family.

While Mrs. Anna Ramirez is hopeful about the prospect of her grandchildren being able to earn a decent living in the industry, she emphasized the need for authorities to crack down on illegal fishing by foreigners who come from the neighboring countries to the south of Belize. She said that this sort of illegal fishing is currently the greatest threat to the industry.