Management Plan - Glover's Reef Marine Reserve

Glovers Reef Marine Reserve – Management Plan
2.6 Cultural and Socio-Economic Values of Management Area
2.6.1 Community and Stakeholder Use
Historically, Glover’s Reef was once an important trading post for the indigenous Mayas of
MesoAmerica, In more recent times, the atoll served as a refuge for British buccaneers, the
name ‘Glover’s’ being derived from the famous British pirate, John Glovers.
Nowadays, Glover’s Reef is renowned for its pristine reef structure of “spectacular walls and
coral canyons”, its clear, shallow, sheltered waters, the string of cayes that line the eastern
edge of the Atoll, and the vibrant marine flora & fauna. Three primary stakeholder uses have
been identified for the area – fishing, tourism and research.
Traditional Fishing
The Atoll is a traditional
fishing area for lobster,
conch and finfish, with the
greatest activity occurring
during the opening of the
lobster and conch seasons.
Before the seasonal closure
zone, and the subsequent
closure of the north east
grouper spawning site, heavy
fishing pressure on the
groupers would also occur
during peak spawning times.
Table 20: Boat and Crew Sizes Fishing at Glover’s Reef
Fishing Community
Dangriga Hopkins Sarteneja
No. Sailboats 8
Average crew size 9
No. of skiffs 2 12
Average crew size 2.5 2.5
Total estimated no.
fishermen
5 30 73
Adapted from Gibson and Hoare, 2006
Thirty-five boats were recorded as active within the Atoll in 2005, primarily from Sarteneja,
Hopkins, Dangriga, Belize City and occasionally Placencia (Table 20), with an estimated total of
108 fishermen (73 sailboat fishermen, and 35 using skiffs) (Gibson and Hoare, 2006).
The two boat types are also indicative of two different fishing
sectors. The majority of fishermen who visit the area use wooden
sailboats up to 30 feet long, equipped with auxiliary outboard
engines and ice boxes, originating primarily from Sarteneja
(Figure 39). Each will carry between seven and twelve crew
members, who free-dive for conch, lobster and occasionally
finfish. These boats sail from Belize City to spend an average of
six to twelve days fishing on the Atoll, before returning to the
mainland (Sarteneja fisherman, pers. com.) The skiffs, originating
from Dangriga and Hopkins are primarily fishing by hand-line, and
spending a much shorter time on the Atoll (an average of three to
four days). The majority of fishermen are members of either
National or Northern Fisherman Co-operatives.
Of the thirty-five boats recorded at the atoll, five use the Atoll as
their main fishing ground (being recorded on the atoll in over six
months of the year) (Table 21). Eighteen boats were recorded as
present on the atoll during only one month of the year, seven of
those being recorded in October, at the opening of the conch
season.
Figure 38: Traditional
Sarteneja Sailboat
Wildtracks / Wildlife Conservation Society, 2007 54