Months ago the government took control of the International Merchant Marine Registry (IMMARBE) because it claimed that the European Union would have imposed sanctions on fleets carrying the Belize flag of convenience.
It placed the registry directly in the Ministry of Finance and introduced a Bill on High Seas Fishing. But last month, the European Commission proceeded to blacklist Belize for not doing enough to meet obligations under international law in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Tonight, the news is that Spain is the first country to announce that beginning December twenty-first it will reject imports of fishery products from Belize, Cambodia and Guinea Conakry in compliance with the legal measures imposed by the EC.
