Totally agree with javi226. It's up to San Pedranos to protect their heritage and have a destination that reflects that heritage. It's up to those who care to help ensure that they are successful.

There are many destinations in the world that have managed to do just that and those are the kinds of places that people put on their list of things to do before they die. Those are also the places that always have people that are willing to pay a little extra to see even when times are tough at home.

READ ME:

http://belizenews.com/pdfs/Pelican_Review.pdf

nice posts javi, scubaldy, ert, simon & reaper. s&s - show me where to sign.

down the road, i hope the residents turning a blind eye for whatever reasons enjoy the company of all those who will be invading your island who are just like those folks who ripped exotic caye a new one and ran back home crying "OMG - they are POOR there!! it's a rubbish strewn slum!! it isn't miaaaaami".

two more questions to add to reaper's list:

- what will happen (short or long term) to the fish, lobster, and conch populations when all these people demand to eat? how about dozens of more fishermen fishing the waters daily?

- and the million dollar question: where is all the trash they generate going to go??

I'm not sure how Pelican Reef plays into this other than being another disaster.

As far as lobster and conch go it's just a matter of supplying the local market instead of the export market, which in the long run should be more profitable (higher margins to the distributors due to lower shipping and handling costs. Most lobster, shrimp and conch are exported.) This is something that the co-ops are more than able to deal with. The only hold back I see is that local purchases are in BZ$ whereas exports are in US$.

Increased marketing of farmed species like Tilapia (and we have some fine Tilapia) will decrease pressure on SW stocks and create more jobs. Catch and release regulations for Grouper and Snapper will also be an eventuality as they are with Bonefish and Tarpon. Farming of Cobia is growing as another food fish, which will also create more jobs. God forbid that we end up with a collapse of the SW species as happened with Cod in Canada.

Trash is a whole different question but also opens up a world of opportunities for those that have the foresight.

P.S. Had this discussion the other night, if anyone is thinking of starting a Port-A-Potti business now is the time (not kidding.)

"nova - nice to know s&s and suecate are helping him buy more armani suits and fund HIS travel"
Sweetjane, wtf? I don't remember encouraging this, and have you ever seen the way Jeff dresses??? Armani it ain't.
I am as disguested as you over this, but pointing the finger seems to be pretty childish....put that anger towards a resolution, OK?

when all you got is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.

sorry, s&s - again my written words were not correctly expressing what my mind wanted to say - a short-coming of mine. it wasn't meant as a slur at you girls at all - but at mr dhillon's alleged flamboyant lifestyle he is creating with others' investment dollars, with no thought to anything but personal profit. ("oops, sorry about the mangroves and changing the face of AC forever, guys...i just want the $$") i never met or saw mr dhillon - i based the statement on the link that Nova posted above.

"It will go into a BMW, that house in Windermere, to a Holt Renfrew Armani suit, and into vacations."

what i MEANT was, that he is living the big life on others' investment dollars. i know (at least hope) that they will most likely have wonderful returns on the investment, and enjoyment of the place. but he is hitting folks up to invest in his next project...so they can continue to fund this "flamboyant" lifestyle.

hope that makes it more clear - if i'm not totally off the mark.

oh, i don't think i read anything about him taking ANY profit and donating even a little bit to the library, schools, saga, feeding or clothing the kids of SP, improving the areas of poverty, preservation of hol chan, buying equipment for the police or ff....

LOL Last rant - yes simon - the pelican reef link was just to show another disaster. i wanted to show that this isnt one isolated incident by the gob...but one in a string of 'not quite above board' dealings to developers that will impact the environment of Bz. i also wanted folks to see (as i learned from it) what is meant when someone talks about mangroves being cleared, and what ripple effect it creates.

Sweetjane, I accept your apology. You are not too close to the mark, tho.
Jeff Pierce, while may not be the posterboy for all things good and fair, is not a flamboyant person. He lives a normal lifestyle, but is making pretty good money off of his projects, and it reflects in daily lifestyle. While his standard of living is higher than mine, he was still flying coach until his frequent flyer miles earned upgrades, wearing GAP clothes, not Armani, and his family is a God fearing Christian based unit. His kids are as sweet and normal as anyone could expect, and his wife, Pam, is a wonderful, genuine lady. Jeff has the most positive outlook of anyone I've ever met. He is a man of his word, although timing isn't an obvious attribute. It is normal for developers to look for investors. Banks typically don't lend the full amount for anything, much less than for speculative efforts.