We know about the World Wildlife Fund, the Green Reef Group, the Healthy Reefs Initiative, the Coastal Zone Management Agency, the Meso American Barrier Reef System – all those groups that watchdog Belize’s precious marine resource. But now there’s one more and it’s called Oceana. But this new kid on the block calls itself the world’s largest international organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. But the news tonight is the big name they’ve got at the helm. Audrey Matura who’s gone from being a journalist to a senator to an attorney and public defender is now...an environmentalist? That’s right, she’s left the Legal Aid Office and was today named the Vice President of the new Oceana Office in Belize. And Jules Vasquez asked her, what’s up with that?

Audrey Matura, VP Oceana - Belize
“The new job is to assist with setting up of an office for Oceana in Belize. Oceana is an organization that deals strictly with the conservation and preservation of our oceans, our waters anywhere and basically that organization is coming into Belize because they realize the beauty of Belize and the precious natural resources we have in our waters, especially in our fish life and everything.”

Jules Vasquez,
It seems a bit suspect, Oceana setting up an office for what? We already have so many environmental watchdogs.

Audrey Matura,
“Yes but we don’t have any that specializes in oceans.”

Jules Vasquez,
I don’t want to risk sounding parochial but we don’t have oceans, we have a sea. You know what I am saying? It seems the scale of it is out of proportion and the level of interest is out of proportion which makes it seem that perhaps it is just someone’s idea of getting a tax deduction for charity.

Audrey Matura,
“No far from that Jules. I think for too long we’ve thought our children to view our Caribbean Sea too narrowly and it is time for us to view our reef that is in our sea as part of the bigger ocean it belongs to which is the Atlantic Ocean.”

Jules Vasquez,
Audrey I’ll say it bluntly – are selling out and I ask that because we in the public know you as a fearless fighter for people’s rights – whether when you were in the media or as a legal practitioner, you always practiced to your credit in the public sector, the DPP’s office and then the Legal Aid Office. But I don’t know you as any environmental crusader. So what is this reincarnation about? Is it about the money?

Audrey Matura,
“Definitely not Jules and I don’t think I am selling out and it is not that I’ve never done environmental work. Environmental issue is nothing to me and it is also still working for the poor people because at the end of the day the people who are affected mostly by what’s happening to our reef are the tour guides and the fishermen. So I’ll still be working for the smaller persons with the smaller persons just with bigger backing, better ammunition, if I could put it that way.”

Jules Vasquez,
One of the founding members is Ted Danson. Does that lend the organization credence or does it just lend it celebrity status?

Audrey Matura,
“No Jules it is amazing. He is very very green and I mean in terms of putting his money into the organization and being very vocal and active.”

Also in that picture with Audrey and Ted Danson is the actor Sam Waterston from Law and Order who is also an Oceana Director. Cesar Gaviria – the Secretary General of the OAS – is also a Board member. Audrey says Oceana will open its Belize office in the summer and founder Ted Danson will visit sometime in the future – so, “Cheers” to that.