Galapagos fishermen skeptical of new reserve amid enforcement woes

Although he makes his living in the protected waters that surround the famous Galapagos Islands from Ecuador, fisherman Pedro Asensio has doubts about the expansion of the marine reserve created last month by his country’s government.

“What if, really, not even the first one can protect well?” said Asensio, 48, as he sat on a bench next to the Puerto Ayora fish market.

Born in the municipal capital of Santa Cruz Island, with a population of 15,000, Asensio is one of the 460 fishermen who ply their trade within the 40 nautical miles that make up the first Galapagos reserve.

In the first reserve, created in 1998 and covering 138,000 square kilometers, only small-scale manual fishing by Galapagos residents is allowed.

The 60,000 square kilometers added last month are the first step in a plan by Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to create a migration corridor between protected areas for species threatened by climate change and industrial fishing.

Fishing is completely prohibited in half of the new reserve, while multi-hook lines are prohibited in the other half, although fishermen can use manual techniques such as diving to catch lobsters.

Environmentalists say expanding the reserve will help protect critically endangered species such as hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and turtles.

But locals say law enforcement is wrongly targeting them and not commercial vessels – including a fleet of 300 ships from China – that anchor in international waters near the islands.

“We are on the high seas and in the 40 miles we have come across ships from all the countries that enter, even Ecuadorians themselves!” said Asensio.

“We leave this bay and the navy falls on us asking for papers,” said 28-year-old Mateo Gil, also a fisherman.

The campaign for an expanded reserve began after the 2017 seizure of the Chinese vessel Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, which was carrying 300 tons of illegal fish, including hammerhead sharks.

The ship’s owners were fined $6.1 million and the captain and crew were sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Residents and scientists joined forces through the More Galapagos group, urging stricter protection of marine species and limiting fishing in the 200-mile zone of sovereign waters around the islands.

“The 138,000 km2 of the current marine reserve have been very efficient in protecting coastal species, mainly, but not for species that have extensive routes,” explained Eliecer Cruz, biologist and spokesperson for the organization.

“It is scientifically proven that if you protect the main feeding and breeding areas, it is a fundamental help for these migratory species,” he added.

threats

Illegal and unsustainable fishing practices are, along with climate change, the main threat to the marine reserve, according to studies by Más Galapagos.

Between 2018 and 2020, 136 unauthorized Ecuadorian industrial vessels were intercepted in the area, according to figures from the Galapagos National Park.

So-called “nanny” ships hover just outside the reservation, sending smaller and largely undetectable vessels into restricted waters, Cruz said.

Other practices, such as the use of buoys with large underwater nets, can be deadly for threatened species.

“But all of this can be solved with a fishing regulation that requires every vessel to have an electronic or satellite tracking device,” Cruz added.

When Galapagos fishermen find the buoys with nets, called “plantados”, they sell them for up to US$30.

“They take away our resources,” said Eddy Fabricio Asensio, 28, Pedro Asensio’s nephew, after returning from a 10-day trip to Marchena Island. “When I came here ten years ago, there was good fishing nearby. Now one has to navigate a little more”.

The Ecuadorian government stated that it relies on the existing satellite infrastructure.

“The ‘plantas’ are a legal fishing gear. It may be that they pass through certain areas of ours and go to other places. We cannot control this, but if we detect it, we have to go out and confiscate it,” said Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique.

No foreign ship has entered Ecuadorian waters for illegal fishing in nine months, Manrique said in mid-January, at the inauguration of the expanded reserve.

The challenges of applying the new corridor are innumerable, recognized the captain of the Puerto Ayora ship, Carlos Vallejo, not only for the reserve, but for other places. “It’s not 198,000 square kilometers, it’s 1.09 million square kilometers of maritime jurisdiction,” he added.