IGFA Representatives
Central America and the Caribbean Region

BAHAMAS

Rachel Lightbourne
Nassau, Bahamas
Rachel Lightbourne -- third generation of the family owned-and-operated Lightbourne Marine-- has heightened the company's stature in the Bahamas through nine years of running the Lightbourne Marine Annual Wahoo Fishing Tournament. She has been a Representative for the IGFA since 2008 and was presented with the IGFA Conservation Award in 2010 for her active role in preventing purse seine netting in Bahamian waters. She also played a key role in the Lionfish Control Project and recently attended all of the town meetings related to new fly fishing legislation in the Bahamas. Lightbourne's ever-growing love and respect for the truly unique environment of The Bahamas has moved her to become an active volunteer at the Bahamas National Trust where she recently was appointed a council member.
 
 

BELIZE

Stuart Doley
Stuart Doley has called Belize home for more than 10 years and has served as Vice President of Conservation for the Belize Game Fish Association since 2015. He has contributed to the organization and execution of Belize's largest billfish tournaments as well as the implementation of regular "catch and release" and other conservation practices within Belize. His fishing career has taken him from Virginia, down the Carolinas, through the Caribbean, and across Central America, and finally to Belize, where he envisions a bright future for Belize's fisheries together with the vision of the IGFA.
 
 

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Franklin Thompson
Franklin Thompson is the current president of the Cayman Islands Angling Club and chairman of the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament. In 2018 he was appointed to the National Conservation Council. Thompson is an active promoter of the Cayman Islands as a sport fishing destination and has been featured in various television shows and publications. As an IGFA Representative his goal is to continue to work with the IGFA to further his youth education efforts and increase the IGFA presence in the Caribbean.
 
 

COSTA RICA

Federico Hampl
Federico Hampl has fished from Canada to the Caribbean to Argentina-- most of the time accompanied by his family. The Hampls have achieved more than 100 IGFA world records, with Federico Hampl holding 25. Hampl is a strong advocate of educating fellow fishermen about IGFA international angling rules and promoting ethical and responsible angling. Recently, he and other like-minded anglers founded the Costa Rican Association of Fly Fishing (CRAFF). The association unites a community of fly fishers and focuses on protecting freshwater resources from neglect by the Costa Rican government.
 
 

CUBA

Giuseppe Omegna
Havana, Cuba
Giuseppe Omegna represented IGFA in Spain but now lives in Cuba where he promotes IGFA ethics and initiatives. Omegna is best known for helping create many marine protected areas in Cuba-- including the largest in the Caribbean-- to ensure the future of our sport.
 
 
Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich
Havana, Cuba
Jose Escrich is Commodore of the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba. A big promoter of conservation, Escrich introduced tag-and-release practices of the IGFA and Billfish Foundation at Cuba's annual Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Fishing Tournament. As an IGFA Representative, Escrich is committed to the promotion of sport fishing and conservation of marine resources.
 
 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Carolina M. Mederos
A daughter of avid anglers, one of whom was a former IGFA Representative, Carolina grew up in the Caribbean fishing community and today shares that passion with her own family. Carolina was a member of the tournament committee for the Club Nautico de Santo Domingo and has assisted in organizing various international tournaments. She is also a founding member of both the Dominican Light Tackle Anglers and Cap Cana Fishing Club. As an IGFA Representative, her main goal is to educate children and the local communities on conservation, ethical angling practices, and sustainability.
 
 
Ewald E. Heinsen
"Wally" Heinsen is a member and past president of the Club Nautico de Santo Domingo-- the top fishing club in the Dominican Republic. He has organized and directed various international fishing tournaments including the 2008 ILTTA tournament in Punta Cana. Heinsen is a founding member of the Dominican Light-Tackle Anglers Club which promotes IGFA rules, light tackle, catch-and-release, and circle hooks. Heinsen works with Roy Beasley, Brad Gentner and Raul Gonzales of CODOPESCA to advance the Caribbean Billfish Project aimed at boosting stocks.
 
 

EL SALVADOR

Francisco "Paco" Saca
At Large, El Salvador
Born and raised in El Salvador, "Paco" Saca got hooked on fishing in the early 1980s while fishing for snook in Florida where he was a University of Miami student. Saca founded the El Salvador International Billfish Tournament which he converted to an all-release format in 2017 to encourage conservation practices among all participating anglers. He was also involved in the banning of shrimp trawlers in the waters of El Salvador.
 
 
Javier Saca
 
 

GUADELOUPE

Bruce Holder
Guadeloupe
Bruce Holder's passion for fishing stemmed from his early years spent poaching European sea bass in Normandy, France to sell to restaurants. Now a resident of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, he practices catch-and-release for snook, tarpon, bonefish and permit in the mangroves and flats. With no fishing regulations implemented in Guadeloupe, Holder's main goal is to teach the locals the ethics of catch-and-release to conserve vulnerable fisheries.
 
 
Eric Marest
 
 

GUATEMALA

Juan Manuel Cobar de la Hoz
Juan Manuel has dedicated his life to fishing and conservation. Introduced to the sport by his father during childhood, he has spent his entire life fishing for sailfish and other big game species. Since 2014, Juan Manuel has been an active participant in the fishing industry, serving as a board member of Club Nautico Guatemala, the Fishing Association of Guatemala, and the International Light Tackle Tournament Association. He has also chaired several tournaments in Guatemala. Currently, he works in the sportfishing industry as the Director of Operations for the Billfish Conservation Project and Pacific Fins Resort.
 
 
Jorge E. Sinibaldi
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Fishing has been a big part of Jorge Sinibaldi's life since his father and uncle introduced him to the sport; today he shares his passion for the water with his children. He served eight years as president of the Guatemala Fishing Federation. A conservationist, Sinibaldi helped establish the Guatemalan Commission for the Protection of Sailfish--an agency dedicated to the prevention of the illegal harvest of sailfish in Guatemalan waters. As an IGFA Representative, Sinibaldi's goal is to engage the next generation of anglers and promote conservation through education.
 
 

HONDURAS

Mauricio Canahuati
Cortes, Honduras
Mauricio Canahuati has been an IGFA Representative for Honduras since 2013. One of Honduras's key sport fishing community leaders, he co-founded the Puerto Cortes Billfish Open-- the country's leading fishing tournament. The tournament donates tens of thousands of dollars to foundations and other charitable organizations throughout the country, positively defining fishing for change. Canahuati is a member of the board of directors of the sport fishing club Club de Pesca del Caribe. He is a staunch advocate of catch-and-release fishing.
 
 

JAMAICA

Ron DuQuesnay
Kingston/Port Antonio, Jamaica
Born in Jamaica in 1944 , Ron DuQuesnay became a general surgeon at the University Hospital of the West Indies, and eventually Senior Lecturer from the 1960s until his retirement in 2010. As IGFA Jamaica Representative since the early 1990s, DuQuesnay has been instrumental in promoting IGFA angling rules and conservation ethics. In 2000, he became chairman of Sir Henry Morgan Angling Association (SHMAA) Ltd. founded in 1980. SHMAA Ltd. remains a conservation-centric Jamaican angling organization, stressing 100 percent catch-and- release for marlin.
 
 

MEXICO

Xavier Autrey
Acapulco, Mexico
Xavier Autrey is a fisherman with true dedication to fisheries conservation. As an IGFA representative, he initiated instructive courses on circle hooks and catch-and-release in Mexico's Acapulco region. He has participated in the National Federation of Sport Fishermen of Mexico which introduced circle hook and catch-and-release practices. He has won three tournaments and finished in the top three in other events.
 
 
Gonzalo A. Camacho
Gonzalo Alamea works as the coordinator for the Fund for the Protection of Marine Resources (FONMAR) and the Secretariat of Aquaculture and Agricultural Development (SEPADA) in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He has been instrumental in organizing youth angling education efforts in the state, hosting several fishing clinics that have reached almost several hundred children. Gonzalo has also worked with the IGFA to promote the IGFA Passports to Fishing program in the area, helping to create a new generation of conservation-minded anglers who care about the environment and species that make the sport possible. In addition to his work with the youth, he has also helped organize adult fishing tournaments and forums where he promotes catch and release and other ethical angling practices.
 
 
Clicerio Mercado, Sr.
Clicerio arrived in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in 1989, well before the area was known as Los Cabos. He worked as the Food & Beverages Manager at the Hotel Plaza las Glorias, now Hotel Tesoro, where he met Robert Joseph Bisbee. Robert was interested in the hotel hosting his 10th annual Bisbee's Black and Blue Fishing Tournament and requested Clicerio's help in doing so. This was Clicerio's first introduction to the sport and after three years of working together, Robert asked Clicerio to become Bisbee's MĂ©xico Representative and take care of all the logistics involved in Los Cabos and MĂ©xico for the tournament. Clicerio was an integral part in growing the Bisbee's tournament to the world-renowned event it is today, and he has received multiple awards and recognitions for his contributions to the growth of the sport in the area. He continues to work with the Bisbee's tournaments and has helped organize other angling events around the state of Baja California Sur.
 
 
Minerva Saenz-Smith
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Minerva Saenz-Smith and her husband Bob moved to Mexico's Cabo region in 1976 and became sport fishing pioneers. They ran a successful charter boat business and later opened the renowned Minerva's Baja Tackle shop. Minerva is committed to conserving game fish and promoting the sport. She served as president of the Union of Owners of Sportfishing Charters for three terms and has lobbied for the protection of game fish species in Mexico.
 
 
Victor Hugo Mendez
VĂ­ctor Hugo works as the head of sport fishing for the Secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture for the Government of the State of Baja California, Mexico, and serves as the Director of the National Sportfishing Federation. His responsibilities have covered fishing events in cities, towns, and rural fishing villages on both the Pacific coast and the east coast of Baja along the Sea of Cortez. Victor has been involved in the development of conservation methods and in determining a sustainability program that can ensure the continued health of the marine life that surrounds the Baja Peninsula. Currently, Victor Hugo is promoting the distribution of sport fishing permits in the state, and he also coordinates a support program for sportfishing service providers in rural towns with a tourist vocation and provides advice on productive reconversion in nautical tourism and conservation. His enthusiasm and dedication, combined with his daily interaction with the sport fishing community, make him a great asset for the IGFA Representatives Program.
 
 
Anthony Mendillo, Jr.
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Capt. Anthony Mendillo Jr., a distinguished Captain and maritime entrepreneur for over two decades, founded Keen M International in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in 1996. Renowned for revolutionizing sailfish charters, he expanded his fleet to four boats and pioneered underwater filming techniques, earning acclaim from BBC and National Geographic. Mendillo's contributions extend to tagging research programs for bluefin tuna, deploying over 300 "pop-up" tags and 150 "archival" tags. With numerous tournament victories, including international angling competitions, and a commitment to marine conservation through filmmaking collaborations, Mendillo remains a prominent advocate for sustainable angling practices, ensuring the ocean's vitality for future generations.