This is a follow up to the disscusion some of us have been having under the message "nasty beaches". Those of you who read that are aware of my concerns about the dredging currently being done on Ambergris Caye. I have found a web page that might be of interest to those of you sharing this concern. www.drbeach.org. It is the web page of Dr.Steven Leatherman who is a renown authority on beaches. I specifically direct your attention to the part entitled "phycical theropy" where he dicusses the practice of dredging which he refers to as "beach nourishment" and how this can be of benefit in certain cases, but how it can be damaging in other cases. I specifically quote "where coral reefs are present, extreme care must be taken because of the potentially damaging impacts of dredging and placement of sand which can smother near shore habitats and feeding areas for fish and sea turtles". He also makes reference to the cliche "killing the goose that lays the golden egg". My crusade continues.

bywarren,
Just to further your research I think you should also do some checking on the shrimp farm that's north of the island. I doubt you would be pleased with that as well. We have them on the Texas coast and in some cases, if not operated properly and with heavy regulation can wreak havoc on a eco system....... The bacteria and viruses discharged into the water are horrible. Are these regulated in Belize for that??? I was concerned.
Debbie

The facility you're thinking of isn't a shrimp farm... it's a hatchery. And yes, it's highly regulated and environmentally sound. There was a great deal of discussion about this several years ago when it was under construction. Perhaps you could search back in the archives for more details.

Jesse is correct on this. I view it as the lesser of two evils. What really sets me off is that there are government officials in Belmopan that pass laws making it illegal to pick up a lobster or spear a fish for dinner if one has a tank on his back. The same offical,who probably couldn't catch, clean or cook a fish if his life depended on it sells permits that allow the Hondurans to bring their shrimp boats into Belize waters killing untold numbers of small marine animals, the occasional turtle and digging up tons of vegitation and coral so that someone can have their shrimp cocktail while getting on my case because the fish I am eating has a spear hole in it.
A couple other thougts. I guess you guys can tell this really gets my blood boiling. When I talk of the lessor of two evils, I mean that I am also opposed to the shrimp hatchery. I am opposed to any kind of industrial developement on AC. I do not understand how the Belize Government can be so involved setting up marine reserves and then give absolutly no attention to what is going on on land just yards away from these reserves. The fact that they wante to raise the fees for tourists to go to these reserves from $5Belize to $25US might shed some insite on there reasoning. Fortunatly, there was enough local pressure from the tour guides to stop this. I only hope that the pressure was for the right reasons and not just because someone else was getting tourists dollars other than they. Oh,oh, there comes my scepticism again.

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 07-23-2001).]

Sounds like you'd be alot happier in some other country. The U.S.?

No Jesse. I am happy in Belize. I was just happier when there were fewer people on Ambergris Caye trying to figure out how to make the most money off of it. I wish more of those people were back in the US making money instead of in Belize.

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 07-23-2001).]

Have you considered Nicaragua?

I am sorry Jesse. I am missing your point. I can understand how someone, whose web page is about "real-estate sales, investment advisor,and developers/investors representative", might have a point of view other than mine. I would only hope that all views are welcome in this forum. And you would use this forum to explain how you feel your view's are justified and in the best interest of Ambergris Caye as opposed to suggesting that someone with differnt views just go away to the US or Nicaragua.
And so others reading this can better understand me, I am a legal resident of Belize under the "Belize Retirement Act of 1999" which gives me resident status in Belize along with certain tax benefits but carries with it a provision that I do not work while in Belize. So yes, I am very happy living in a country currently as beautiful as Belize, and that, in the event I would get a notion to work, doing so would mean that I would be breaking the law. Now, for the rest of you that must work, I feel your pain. Please, just try and make your money in ways that are not harmful to a place I love.

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 07-24-2001).]

Hmmm... maybe CUBA??? where the government really has a grip on things!

As another "retired" person who enjoys residency, I understand both views here. I agree that over the past 20+ years I have enjoyed AC, the economic improvements of development have been good for many of the people. However, if we continue to develope this small patch of paradise we will eventually destroy the pristine beauty that we all came for in the first place. This is the price of tourisim around the world. Every ecosystem in the world has suffered as man alters it for his own use and greed. The waters of the gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic or Pacific coast lines of the US, the Baja, Fiji, Cancun, etc. were not always as dirty as they are today. The encroachment of man on the planets better places will go on until they disappear as it always has. We can only hope that some of us are more interested in protecting them for ourselves and the future generations that follow us than we are in counting every dollar we can wring from them. I will probably only live another 20 years or so and I can only hope that we don't dig it up, pile it up and build enough to destroy what is left before then. OK, I'm off my soapbox now, but damn that felt good!!!