Ambergris Caye Belize Resort Development - Department of ...

- Low Density General Residential Land Use Zone For The Eastern Shoreline Extending
Back To The Shore Of Laguna De Cantena, From The Bacalar Chico Channel South To
Rocky Point
- Conservation Area from Rocky Point South to Robles Point
- A Special Coordinated Development Area Encompassing the Former Pinkerton Estate
9.14.1.1 Marine Component
The rationale, objectives and key enforcement and management needs of the BCMR’s four
management zones include the following:
General Use Zones (1 and 2) allows for the sustainable management of existing
traditional uses within the BCMR prior to declaration. This zone lies apart from areas in need of
greater protection, and it is easily accessible to local fisher folks who use the area for commercial
fishing (Fig. 9.7). A combination of the zone’s existing fishing banks and proximity to the
adjacent Conservation Area (I) replenishment area offers fishermen fertile and potentially
valuable fishing grounds.
The key objectives of the zones are to provide the opportunity for established uses and activities
to be continued in a sustainable manner under a stringent monitoring scheme. The key
enforcement and monitoring needs of the zone also include intensive patrols to institute fisher
folk compliance, specifically with respect to fishing gear, catch sizes etc. and to deter the
potential for incursions into conservation and preservation zones.
- Conservation Zone (I) is essentially a non-extractive zone, designed for baseline
monitoring, research, education and limited recreational use. This zone represents a transverse
section of the BCMR, which includes intertidal flats and grass flats, patch reefs, back reef and
reef crest types and coralline grove formations in the outer reef. The zone serves as a
replenishing and nursery area and provides habitats for threatened and endangered species such
as the West Indian Manatee and marine turtles. The key objectives of this zone are to conserve a
representative sample of certain habitats within the BCMR, to provide an undisturbed area for
recruitment of species to adjacent areas, and to provide opportunities for research, education, and
comparison with unprotected areas. The key enforcement and monitoring needs of the zone
primarily concern control of Illegal fishing, particularly nighttime poaching (Fig. 9.7).
Conservation Zone (II) is a controlled extraction zone designed to accommodate
subsistence fishing, recreation and tourism. The zone accommodates all of the different types of
recreational activities permitted in the reserve, in affording beach areas for swimming, corals for
diving and snorkeling, areas for canoeing and good areas for fishing. The key objectives of this
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