Fishing fleet wrecks Galapagos
THE VIEW FROM SPACE: Fleet is pink net around islands in centre
A VAST fishing fleet is threatening the Galapagos Islands’ unique ecosystem – dumping 25,000 plastic bottles A DAY into the oceans.
The Chinese flotilla of 325 vessels – some as big as a football pitch – stretches for 300 miles around the islands, whose rich biodiversity offers vital insights into life on our planet.
Scientists fear the fleet puts endangered species at risk both by plundering the oceans and from the huge quantities of rubbish thrown overboard every day.
They say the boats, each dangling millions of hooks, are targeting sharks that end up in expensive fin soup in markets across China and Hong Kong.
In 2017, officials from Ecuador, which owns the islands, intercepted one boat that had 300 tonnes of refrigerated shark fins on board.
Last week locals spoke of their anger after finding a young shark washed up with its dorsal fins hacked off.
Hope
And a whale shark called Hope that recently vanished was shown by its GPS tracker to have last been where the fleet was.
Esme Plunkett, 23, a British marine biologist based on the island of Santa Cruz for two years, said: “I’ve never known such anger here.
“Locals are devastated at what these fleets are doing.”
The importance of the islands was revealed by British naturalist Charles Darwin after an expedition there in 1835. Studying the unique species he found there helped him form his groundbreaking theory of evolution.
Conservationists say at least 18 species, including marine iguanas, turtles and sea lions, have been found entangled in plastic bags or discarded lines, or have swallowed plastic.
Esme said: “In just 25 minutes I found 45 Chinese-labelled bottles in the rocks next to the iguanas.
Degrade
“Finding waste is not unheard of, but this was in good condition with the labels still intact.
“In two years I’ve never seen plastic waste like this. They take hundreds of years to degrade.”
It is understood the vessels, which claim to be catching squid, have now turned off their tracking devices to avoid being monitored.
Oswaldo Jarrin, Ecuador’s defence minister, said: “It’s a breach of protocol on the high seas, they don’t want us to know what they are doing.”
Turning off satellite systems violates international rules meant to promote sustainable fishing.
Former Charles Darwin Foundation boss Arturo Izurieta, who grew up on the islands, says the danger is stark.
He said: “I fear for our very future if this continues.
“It is destroying the seas and destroying the land. This has been allowed to happen for years and the time has come to put an end to it.
“We must find a way to stop it or, in the future, there may well be no Galapagos left at all.”