Fishing and Diving for the Blue Reef Adventure

As with most Placencia days lately, it was the perfect time for a boat trip with serene, calm waters and a bright, summer sunlight.

I had been picked up by Blue Reef Adventures in the very early morning and boarded the deep sea fishing and diving experts’ 38-foot Luhr, which boasted twin outboard engines, two 20- foot outriggers and eight trolling rods. One of the newest tour operators to join the Placencia Chapter of the Belize Tourism Industry Association were taking me on an epic hunt for marlin and tuna, but of course as it tends to go around here, a lot more magic was awaiting me.

We were captained by Roland Alford, an expert Belizean fisherman and joined by his wife and first mate, Polly Alford, who is also co-owner and Dive Master at Blue Reef Adventures. Originally from the technology sector in London, Polly discovered her love of diving in Roatan, Honduras in the late 1990s.

Feeling done with the rat race and wanting to follow her passions instead, she made a drastic life change and traveled for over a year during which time she spent three months in the South Pacific working as a Dive Instructor in Fiji.

Naturally, she eventually made her way to Belize, the home of the largest living Barrier Reef in the world, where in 2003 she founded and headquartered ReefCI, a non-profit conservation foundation. Upon arriving, Roland came highly recommended as her boat captain, but he quickly became her “right hand man” … and more. As Polly so eloquently told me, after five years of working together, “our passion for the ocean became our passion for each other”. The couple were married on the stunning beaches of Hunting Caye in Belize’s Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve in 2010. Together, they founded Blue Reef Adventures based in Placencia Village and began hosting day and week-charters for a unique all-in-one diving and fishing experience. They’re now joined on their charters by Roland’s two sons, Byron and Anderson. The boys have been fishing all their lives and are just as quick and precise in their trade as their father.

Happy tunes sang from the boat speakers. I enjoyed classics such as Tina Turner’s “Simply the best,” Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” and Hot Chocolate’s “You sexy thing” along with the typical Belizean caye trip fare of breakfast burrito and fresh fruit to start the day and a stewed chicken lunch accompanied by yellow rice and coleslaw for when the second wave of hunger hit. The ice cold Belikins and Fantas flowed freely.

I learned that watching for birds settling on the surface of the sea is a telltale sign of tuna underneath, as we trolled within the general use zone of the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve where just the day prior, they’d spotted a whale shark and a sperm whale! Suddenly, and what would be the first of many times, there was a whirring sound and random shouts of “FISH ON!” Everyone moved at once. The Blue Reef team instructed me to sit in the chair at the back and start reeling in the line while each of them efficiently reeled in everything else. The neon green high visibility line made it easy to track my progress, and it wasn’t long before they’d gaffed a rather large barracuda hooked to my line, and I felt like a fishing pro. There was a grand moment for my victory pic and then immediate shouts of “Lines back in!”... and so the day progressed!

One of the unique things about Blue Reef Adventures is that they are equally as equipped to give you a great fishing experience as they are outfitted for diving. We were three divers onboard with one goal in mind: spearing some Lionfish! The deceptively beautiful menaces to our reef are the only fish you can legally spear while wearing a tank here in Belize, and you’re encouraged to kill as many as possible! Non-indigenous to the area and without any known nat-ural predators, Lionfish feed on juvenile reef fish and reproduce at an alarming rate laying 50,000 eggs every three days that will reach maturity within a year and live for 30 years! They are currently one of the biggest threats to the Belizean reef.

After a thorough briefing from Polly, it struck me as we descended to a depth of 60 feet that the three divers onboard were female and that we were all going hunting! (Go Girls!) Polly carried the ZooKeeper (a large container with a one way valve), and we were each armed with three-pronged spears that would strike through our prey. The Lionfish hide around and under coral, so you have to train your eyes to spot them, despite how sprawled and enchanting they are underwater.

They are outfitted with extremely venemous spines that can still sting you after they die, so each time we had successfully captured one, we exchanged our spear with Polly’s who expertly put our prey inside the container. We speared eight on the first dive and nine on the second for a total of 17 in the day.

Though intent on our goal to satisfy our murderous instincts, the dives were not without other welcome distractions. We marveled at the sight of a loggerhead turtle resting on the sea bottom with a remora on its back. We saw two eels, a queen triggerfish, a large school of blue tangs, and the fascinating scrawled filefish. We also saw those corals our Belize waters are famous for, such as purple fans, green funnels and large brains – all that could easily blend into a Dr. Seuss story scene.

At the end of our second dive, we were joined on our safety stop by a very interested nurse shark. Docile but determined, it kept butting up against the zookeeper and nearly surfaced with us after our three minutes at 20 feet. Interestingly, it very obviously had a taste for Lionfish. As soon as we surfaced, I asked Polly her thoughts on this. She explained that, while it was originally thought that creating predators was a good idea, it was soon realized that because of the Lionfish’s defenses, this taste can mostly be acquired for already dead prey. Now we know that by leaving already dead Lionfish for sharks and eels you’re then minimizing the vertical markets that conservation companies are trying to build demand for such as sashimi, fillet and skins for jewelry.

Polly has become a lionfish expert of sorts throughout her diving career and has even created a cookbook full of recipes using the delicate fillet that is truly delicious and versatile. In May she attended the Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival (LRAD) in Pensacola, Florida where she promoted her cookbook and worked to excite people about eating the fish.

We returned back to the marina around 5 p.m. just as the sky was starting to change with the pinkish hue of sunset. A little sunburnt, salty and feeling like a victor of sorts, with all my conquests aboard. I’d done my part to save the reef all the while enjoying myself immensely. From week-long island stays that include daily fishing and diving excursions, to charted day experiences like the one I had, I encourage everyone to discover their own Blue Reef Adventure!▪

For more info on Blue Reef Adventures and Polly Alford's Lionfish cookbook, visit: http://bluereefadventures.com/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/ Cook-Lionfish-Polly-Alford/ dp/1457559544

Shaylene Todd works as Sales Manager for Itz'ana Resort & Residences in Placencia. She can often be seen running the road or enjoying a beach day with friends here in Placencia.

By Shaylene Todd Contributing Feature Writer The Placencia Breeze shaylenetodd@gmail.com