Posted: December 14th, 2015. 7: 18 p.m. CST.
Oceana’s Senior Advisor, Alexandra Cousteau
By Chrisbert Garcia: Oceana’s Senior Advisor, Alexandra Cousteau, who is also an Ocean Explorer and National Geographic filmmaker, arrived in Belize on December 6th and departed today after meeting with several stakeholders in marine conservation.
During her stay, Cousteau met with Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega to discuss sustainability in management, Mayor of San Pedro Daniel Guerrero, Councilor Gary Grief and other tourism partners to talk about opportunities and challenges facing the island that is the country’s biggest tourist destination.
She also met with various prominent fishermen from across the country, including Dennis Garbutt from Punta Gorda, who explained to Cousteau how gillnets are devastating some important fish species and she snorkeled the Hol Chan, as well as Gladden Spit Marine Reserves with their employees who spoke of seaweed cultivation as an alternative livelihood opportunity.
Cousteau’s main reason for visiting though, was to give her speech at the Energy of Nature vs. Nature of Energy Science Symposium, which was held last week Wednesday. In her address, she expressed her love for Belize and all its marine resources and pledged to do her best to preserve them.
Photo: Carlos Suárez/Oceana / Living green magazine.