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Fishing the dive sites
Yesterday when our dive boat pulled up to the mooring buoy at the Tres Cocos dive site a large fishing boat named 'Sly Dog' was had dropped anchor on the reef and was fishing the dive site. They pulled up anchor and left when they saw us. Another smaller boat (skif) was tied to the dive mooring and had also dropped fishing lines on the dive site. He was close enough to suffer our remarks and did hasty retreat. The rope used by the tourist divers to descend along was tangled in fishing hooks and mono filament fishing line the spot where 'Sly Dog' had dropped anchor had sponge and coral dug up from the anchor dragging on the reef.
The Fisheries dept, Port Authority and Tour Guides association all have rules/laws governing fishing on the reef but any activity on the ocean is difficult to monitor, so we have to rely on governing ourselves. Distance your fishing activities from the dive sites and don't drop anchor on the reef. Do not tie fishing boats to dive moorings. The last thing you want is a pissed off San Pedro Tour guide teaching you manners, it will hurt.
Fishing and Diving seem to be a natural conflict but if we have some mutual respect for one another's sport, I'm sure we can get along even living on a small island together.
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Amen Elbert!

Well said ,elbert I fish ambergris caye once a month..I a few times I see guys fishing where I feel they should not be !!! like the reef where divers are !! .But the guides I know and use are old time locals , who know where to fish. they respect the divers and know that must get along to both survive . There goal is to give there clients a great day on the water .I guess there are some not so skilled so called capt/guides who do not have the talent to find the fish.I see them from time to time in the streets hustling tourists , thank god they are but a few !! As it is a shame as they give fisherman a bad rap with the divers..Here is to living the dream in peace together.!!!

For the first time ever I saw some monofilament line at a dive site last week. I hope this isn't the start of a trend. It was shallow, near the mooring point, and still had hooks attached.

I have had a cormorant hang itself on monofilament line recently in my front yard. Please be careful with fishing line!

I've found hooks and filament a few times over the years.

The last one was a great bloody hook, almost the size of my palm.

In May I went Ballistic while diving at Lighthouse Atoll. The ?Capt.? had a group of his friends with him on the boat we had chartered. They fished while we dove and fished in the preserve at Half Moon Caye while all the rest of our group was off looking at the Booby Birds. The ignored my complaints. They said Belizeans could fish where ever they wanted to.

At the end of the day it will be the local people that will save the Environment, but in Belize we have a long way to go with the attitudes.