Fisheries Management and Economic Development in Belize: A Suggested Data Base for Fisheries Management Issues

Abstract

The following paper is the result of consultations with the Fisheries Ministry and a household survey done in Belize in 1980. The paper is separated into four sections with the first section being an introduction to Belize and Belizean fish markets. The second section examines the determinants of per capita fish consumption in the three major coastal cities proximate to the Belizean barrier reef. Important demand related factors such as the identification of the community, its racial composition, and its class (income) composition affect the amounts of fish consumption in Belize. Efforts to market fish and marine products must recognize these differences. The third section matches ranks in preferences (obtained from household survey) to ranks in production (reported to the Fisheries Ministry by the fishing cooperatives). Large positive differences between production rank and preference rank indicate difficulty in marketing such species. Likewise large negative differences between production rank and preference rank indicate which species are highly desirable and at least, potentially, marketable. The fourth section uses the household survey to establish the relationship between fish quality as they affect rank. The results indicated that smell and color (before cooking) and convenience in eating (after cooking) are the most important factors determining an individual fish's overall, quality rank. Other factors such as mild taste or firmness had little effect in explaining ranks. This part of the survey indicated the importance of fish appearance factors in the successful marketing of fishery products. The fifth section discusses that information which would be of minimal cost to collect and yet most useful for making fishery management and successful marketing decisions in developing countries.