Posted: January 20, 2016. 7:15 p.m. CST.
By Dalila Ical: This Friday the Belize Fisheries Department along with its partners will be holding its 
“Pride Campaign for Managed Access Graduation Ceremony: Sustainable Fishing for Our Future” and will be presenting the successes of the program that has been recognized internationally for replication in other regions for small scale fisheries.
In a release issued by the department, it states that the program was started in 2013 and aimed specifically at “transitioning from an open-access fishery system to a managed-access one that favours the sustainability” of the fishing sector.
To get the ball rolling, the department partnered with Rare to implement the “national Pride campaign for Managed Access that aimed at strengthening the engagement and empowerment of fishing communities” which saw representatives of the department trained to become Managed Access Coordinators to implement such campaign. Their training included 
employing social marketing tools and technical assistance.
Through the initiative, fishers will not only play a bigger part in managing the fishing resources but will also be able to “derive greater benefits from those resources”, said Fisheries Administrator Beverly Wade.
In its release, the department indicated that the fishing sector accounts for some 20.5 million dollars coming into the country, employing over 3, 000 fishers and ultimately impacting 15, 000 Belizeans nationwide.
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