Apr 13, 2021 Environmental Activists Argue that Corona Reef is in Belizean Waters In January, a team of researchers from the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment, TIDE, was stopped by members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces from conducted scientific studies within the area of the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve known as Corona Reef. The incident sparked public outrage because the location in question spans the maritime boundaries of Belize and Guatemala. On April seventh, the Ministry of the Blue Economy issued a joint statement along with the Belize Fisheries Department and TIDE stating that while the area is under-represented as a marine protected area, it is an important natural environment for fish spawning and aggregation. Activists Giovanni Brackett and Wil Maheia are up in arms, arguing that Corona Reef and the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve are in both in Belize’s territorial waters and there is no need to obtain Guatemalan cooperation to study it.