If you ask residents from Placencia, Hopkins, Riversdale, or any of those southern communities where Angelfish Caye is, they'll look at you like you've just made it up. But if you ask them about Will Bauer Flats, they'll have endless stories.
Up until February, most tour guides in the area had no idea that those were two names for the same island. So when they heard of a consultation for an EIA for Angelfish Caye, they paid it no mind.
That was until they saw the dredging equipment surrounding their favorite flats.
That launched a war between the guides and the developers, with the government playing mediator, trying to maneuver between development and sustainability - and public sentiment.
But in the end, the latter two won out, and so did all the fishers whose livelihoods depend on Will Bauer. Yesterday our news team went out with the acting president of the Belize Flat Fishery Association, and the leading voice in this battle, Eworth Garbutt, for a victory lap around the flats. Courtney Menzies has this story.
Courtney Menzies: Only 8 months ago, black dredging tubes snaked around Will Bauer Flats like tentacles threatening to take away Belize's fly fishing goldmine. But southern tour guides fought relentlessly against the proposed development and now these signs mark a victory for both fishers and nature, and a new beginning for conservation on the island.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"First and foremost the phone just started ringing off the hook and it was a "we" moment where the whole country international partners, everyone said when you talk, tell the government heartfelt kudos, appreciation, thank you, every word with gratitude, we appreciate this move. And direct to Honorable Cordel Hyde, he did the honorable thing, he's a man of his word, he said he would do that right thing and he did the right thing, not just for us but for the heritage coming behind us, this is the best thing we could leave for our kids, this is what we call generational wealth."
Wealth that was worth constant surveillance and countless interviews from dozens of tour guides who rely on Will Bauer. And the 83-year-old guide who gave the flats its unofficial name explained back in February that they were trying to save more than just their livelihoods.
posted (February 9, 2024)
Lincoln Westby Fly Fishing Tour Guide
"It's not just fly fishing or sport fishing, it's the tourism industry completely that we are trying to protect."
And since then, the guides and fishers refused to back down. The government placed a suspension order on the dredging in February - but it was quietly lifted three months later. The spurred the locals to make another trip to the flats, where Garbutt made it clear the they weren't giving up.
posted (May 16, 2024)
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"They have to stop to make us stop. We are not stopping until a stop order is there."
And these guides had key ministers on their side:
posted (May 16, 2024)
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
"To me that area is so sensitive that it should be left alone."
posted (February 16, 2024)
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"You know, if it's up to me, if it were up to me, I would say just kill it totally. But these things, as you know, have a life of their own."
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But ultimately, the government made the decision to acquire that flats from Angelfish Caye LLC - a move that has the people of the south rejoicing. And for the avoidance of any doubt about how vital Will Bauer is to the flat fishing community, Garbutt showed us how easily a fisher can snag a bonefish.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"Courtney, you saw firsthand as we reached when the school of bone fish came and welcomed us, it was a school of about 200 and I said something that is key, I haven't heard a guest say Gilligan's Island too often in Belize, when I used to fish, and Mr Lincoln, when I used to come to all these pristine spots, they would say this is like Gilligan's Island, you come here to fish and don't see any development. So this is the last hope for Gilligan's Island and for an ecological system to bloom. So there's no lodge here, right where I caught that bonefish, right there they would have put their guests to sleep, the guests that come to fish this area."
"This is more than just sport fishing, this is food security. This is where the conchs they come to grow, the lobster, the juvenile fish, this is the heritage."
And while Garbutt is grateful, he now has another request: that more people stand up and speak out in the name of sustainability.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA
"Without unity and consistency, I don't believe the message would have gotten through. And I'll say to the media, you all are the best people for us to have our consultations with. You'll hear people say, oh it's Eworth and that crowd with their big mouths. This is what is called lobbying in other countries, not making noise, but lobbying. And the government heard our cry. So I'm asking the NGOs, the stakeholders, every other key players, when we see wrong doing, don't feel like you'll be victimized or step on anybody. The Minister said they can't know everything so let's work and Belize now, September celebrations, I think we can celebrate something."
As we told you before, the acquisition needs to be published once more in the Gazette before it's official. And after, Garbutt is hoping GOB will remove the wooden pegs around the fishing area to make the capture and release of the bonefish easier.
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