• Version
• Download 8
• File Size 8.84 MB
• File Count 1
• Create Date September 25, 2026
• Last Updated September 25, 2026

Baseline Assessment of Belize’s Multispecies Nearshore Finfish Fishery (2017-2025)

Belize City, Belize - November 2025

Prepared By:

The Baseline Assessment of Belize’s Multispecies Nearshore Finfish Fishery (2017-2025) has been prepared by Kendra Karr of Pincoya Solutions, at the request of the Belize Fisheries Department, Ministry of Blue Economy & Marine Conservation, and WWF-US, in support of the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative. This assessment report has been reviewed by stakeholders and endorsed by the Belize Fisheries Department. 

Summary:

A multi-indicator baseline assessment integrating both fishery-dependent (2017-2025) and fishery-independent (2006-2023) data was used to characterize the status and patterns of fishing pressure across Belize’s multispecies finfish fishery. The assessment is framed as a baseline assessment, not a comprehensive one, providing a structured starting point for adaptive management. Findings should be interpreted as directional and refined as monitoring expands. Across the indicators assessed, many of Belize’s commercially important finfish targets show signs of significant and persistent pressure, with clear patterns emerging by gear type, species, and fishing community. While the results reflect the best available data, they may not represent the full scope of the national finfish fishery, as data coverage varied by region, gear type, and year. Nonetheless, across most indicators, including total landings, catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE), length-based reference points, and fishery-independent abundance trends, there is evidence of growth, with fish being caught before they have had a chance to grow and reproduce, where non‑selective gears overlap with nursery and nearshore habitats. This pattern is especially pronounced in small-bodied and fast-growing species like Bluestriped Grunt, Striped Mojarra, and Yellowfin Mojarra, which are often harvested in large numbers while still immature; these patterns vary spatially across Belize. 

Length-based indicators frequently fall below precautionary thresholds (e.g., <30 SPR, > 2 F/M proxy, or < 80% optimally sized fish in the catch). At the same time, community‑ and gear‑specific patterns reveal heterogeneity in risk and opportunity for rebuilding.  Beach traps, widely used across northern communities, frequently catch high volumes of small-bodied species, resulting in high F/M ratios (>2), low spawning potential ratios (LBSPR 20-30% and < 20%), and Froese sustainability indicators falling below precautionary thresholds (% mature < 80%, % optimal < 70%) for some of the species caught. Although beach traps are inherently non-selective gears that capture a wide range of species and sizes, many fishers apply selectivity at the point of harvest by releasing undersized individuals; however, length-based indicators suggest that post-capture selectivity does not fully compensate for the gear’s low in-water selectivity. In contrast, spear guns and hand lines, particularly those landed in communities such as Turneffe and Caye Caulker, were more selective, often capturing individuals at or above maturity for species such as Hogfish, Schoolmaster, and Great Barracuda.

CPUE trends, disaggregated by gear, revealed localized surges and sharp declines depending on species and fishing strategy. For example, Dog Snapper and Schoolmaster exhibited declining CPUE in the trap fisheries, while Yellowtail Snapper showed variable patterns depending on whether spear or hand line was used. Gill net catches showed an absolute reduction in catch after the 2020 national ban. 

Fishery-independent visual census data (AGGRA) from 2006 to 2023 reinforced these patterns, showing declines in national abundance for high-value species such as Mutton Snapper, Gray Snapper, Black Grouper, and Cubera Snapper. Length-frequency trends in this dataset suggest that while some species (e.g., Yellowfin Grouper, Tiger Grouper) are beginning to show modest recovery in size, many continue to exhibit truncated size distributions. 

Total landings (e.g., communities in Belize City, Corozal, Bacalar Chico, Dangriga, Placencia, and Turneffe) have been stable between 2022 and 2024 but have declined since 2021 and remain below long-term averages, particularly for key export species. Taken together, the indicators highlight consistent stock-level stress, particularly in species frequently targeted with non-selective gears in nearshore areas and in fishing communities with high landings, such as Placencia, Corozal, and Belize City. 

Fishery‑independent trends corroborate long‑term declines in some reef predators and commercial snappers and groupers in multiple sub‑regions. However, fishery-independent data at species-level resolution is not consistently available across the time series, so these patterns should be interpreted with caution. 

This multi-indicator framework establishes a national baseline assessment of the multispecies finfish fishery, underscoring the need for gear-specific management responses that include improved enforcement of minimum size limits, spatial or temporal closures, and promotion of more selective fishing practices in fishing areas. Tailoring these actions by gear, species, and fishing areas use patterns will be critical to rebuilding, sustaining livelihoods, and meeting long-term conservation and fishery management objectives in Belize’s multispecies finfish fishery.