"Boat either equipped for or engaged in sportfishing". If a boat has some fishing equipment on board but no rods and lines, then it is not equipped for fishing, it simply could not fish. I am sure that any judge or magistrate would agree that for a boat to be equipped for fishing, by definition, it must be able to fish, therefore it must have fully functioning fishing tackle on board. A boat with rod holder and little more, is not equipped to fish. It couldn't fish. "Equipped to fish" does not mean having some fishing paraphernalia on board, it means "so equipped as to be able to fish". That's the definition we should insist on.
As for licences for everyone on board, that should be licences for the number of rods or lines on board. In the UK the rods are licensed. Then there is no problem with licensing passengers, spectators, babies in arms, etc.
I do not agree with licensing at all. The civil servants recruited to enforce these kind of rules, captains licences, park licences, vehicle inspections, boat registrations, etc would make Belize a far more successful economy if they were in productive work! Then Belize could stop asking for international handouts!

Peter Verralls