Shell shocked! Fisherman fined nearly $20,000 for hawksbill turtle meat

Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2025. 8:09 pm CST.

By Breaking Belize News Staff: A Belize City fisherman has learned the hard way that turtle meat is truly priceless after being fined nearly $20,000 for having hawksbill turtle meat, a prohibited species under Belize’s Fisheries Regulations.

On Wednesday in court, twenty-six-year-old Daniel Marvin Hughes Jr. was fined a total of $19,005 after pleading guilty to possession of prohibited fish when 14 pieces of Hawksbill turtle meat were found in a cooler at his home.

The bust occurred around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, October 13, when a team of Fisheries officers conducted an inspection on board a vessel named “Timeless.” The discovery led to Hughes Jr.’s arrest and subsequent charges.

Appearing unrepresented before Magistrate Mannon Dennison in Court #6, Hughes Jr. pleaded guilty to the offense. The court imposed the minimum penalty fine of $5,005 for the offense itself, along with an additional $1,000 fine per piece of turtle meat, totaling $14,000 more.

Magistrate Dennison noted that although Hughes Jr. faced a maximum penalty of $50,000 or two years in prison, he was shown leniency as a first-time offender.

He was ordered to pay the $5,005 fine by March 31, 2026, or face one year in prison, and the remaining $14,000 by July 31, 2026, or face distress proceedings.

The Fisheries Department is using this case as a warning to others, reminding fishermen that the penalties for possessing or trading in protected species are steep.

Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered, and their capture, killing, or possession in Belize is strictly prohibited.

 

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The post Shell shocked! Fisherman fined nearly $20,000 for hawksbill turtle meat appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.

Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2025. 8:09 pm CST. By Breaking Belize News Staff: A Belize City fisherman has learned the hard way that turtle meat is
The post Shell shocked! Fisherman fined nearly $20,000 for hawksbill turtle meat appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.