Five Belizeans were scheduled to appear in court today following their
arrest for being in possession of a large quantity of out of season conch.
Nigel Martinez of the Southern Environmental Association tells us more.
Nigel Martinez: Southern Environmental Association
"Basically we ran a sting last night around three am. We intercepted a
vessel carrying five individuals; four males and one female. We confiscated
a total of five thousand five hundred eight seven conch and the conch
season is closed between the first of July and the thirtieth of September,
inclusive in any year."
Martinez says that they received word that the vessel was on its way to
Guatemala.
Nigel Martinez: Southern Environmental Association
"They were supposed to be intercepted somewhere before Guatemala so that
they could have exchanged this product. We intercepted this product just
east of Salt Caye just in front of Seine Bight village located in South
Stann Creek. This joint enforcement team that we have set up spear headed
by Southern Environmental Association is also made up of two members of the
police unit. They accompanied us along with a fisheries office so it was a
four member team. The team was up all night last night until we made that
bust. We feel greatly appreciative for the team that is out there; we thank
the Belize Police Force for their assistance. We also thank the Belize
Fisheries Department for their assistance as well as our team leader Shane
Pech who made the arrest."
According to Martinez this is the largest quantity of illegal conch they
have found with a group or individual. Martinez says that they are going to
ask the Magistrate for the maximum fine which is 30 dollars per conch.
Story at
http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=10754