Empowering Fishing Communities in the MAR Reef

From July 31 to August 1st, the Fifth Tri National Fishermen Forum from the Gulf of Honduras was held in Punta Gorda, Belize.  It was organized by the Tri National Alliance for the Conservation of the Gulf of Honduras - TRIGOH -.

The main objective of the forum was to strengthen the network of fish refuges in the Gulf.

A total of 79 persons among fishermen, staff from NGOs and Fisheries and Protected Areas authorities from the three countries (Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) participated in the forum.  The most represented delegation was the one from Guatemala, folllowed by Belize and then Honduras. After evaluating the representation by sector, the fishers were the highest represented with 38 persons, follwed by the NGOs and the authorities with 31 and 10, respectively. Fisherwomen were also represented.

Among the results obtained during the forum are:

• Socialization of the research protocol for establishing the baseline of fish refuges within the Gulf of Honduras and fishermen participation in its implementation.
• Ellaboration of the map of the network of fish refuges and identifying its geographical gap

Eleven new potential sites were identified within the Gulf of Honduras as fish refuges as follows: six sites in Belize: 1 in Gladen Spit, 4 in Sapodilla Cayes and 1 in Port Honduras. In Honduras, the five sites identified were: Tulian, Barra de Chamalecon Boratex, Capiro, Los Micos and Peñón de Punta Isopo.

The representatives from the Fisheries and Protected Areas authorities committed to support the fish refuges initiatives among the three countries in order to consolidate the Network.

We will keep you posted of every progress TRIGOH has!

During the months of May and June, 2014, the national fishermen fora in each of the three countries of the Gulf of Honduras were held.

Under the coordination of the Tri national Alliance for the development of the Gulf of Honduras -TRIGOH-, fishermen associations and authorities spent a day discussing fisheries issues.  The main topic of each of the meetings was the establishment of fish refuges in order to consolidate the Fishe Refuges Network.

The organized fishermen have given huge steps towards co-management in only one year.  Most of them learned about the process of establishing fish refuges during the last tri national fishermen forum when Mexican fishermen shared their experiences. 

The results of each of the fora will be discussed during the Tri National Fishermen Forum that willl be held in Punta Gorda, Belize on July 31.

We will keep you posted of the interesting outcomes and results from the tri national forum, as these will again be thanks to your collaboration and support.

The MAR Fund Team