[I have enclosed a message from Matt James, plus a second message
from him with an update on the situation.]
Galapagos Crisis
Dear Fellow Scientists - Very disturbing news is coming out of the
Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Those of us who care deeply about the
islands are trying to bring the ecological crisis described below to
the attention of the international scientific community. The
information below is retyped from a FAXed letter I recently received
from Macarena Green in Quito. She is a biologist who worked on
ascidians and is now a naturalist in the islands. She
can be reached by FAX at Andando Tours in Quito at 593-2-443188.
Please write a letter to the President of Ecuador at the address
provided below. I will cross-post this several times (to TAXACOM,
MOLLUSCA, and PALEONET) so you might get it more than once, and
please feel free to post it to additonal news groups. I can be
reached by e-mail, phone, FAX, & snail mail:
Matthew J. James
Associate Professor and Chairman
Department of Geology
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, California 94928 USA
matt.james@sonoma.edu
voice: 707-664-2301 (my office)
voice: 707-664-2334 (Dept. office)
FAX: 707-664-2505 or
FAX: 707-664-3012
The original FAX is retyped below:
*****************************************
Quito, 12 de Enero de 1995
Quito, January 23, 1995
FAX: 707-664-2505
Attn: Dr. Matt James
From: Macarena Green
Dear Dr. James,
I received your fax in regards the sea cucumber exploitation in the
Galapagos. Following you will find some general information as to how
things have developed.
As you must know since 15th of October of 1994 the sea cucumber
fisheries was legally opened in the Islands. Most of the activities
took place in Bolivar Channel (western side of the Archipelago) and
principally the west coast of Isabela and all around Fernandina
Islands. Until the 15 of December there were over 800 fishermen
working on the exploitation of the sea cucumber, Isostichopus fuscus
in that area. It was calculated that each of them was
collecting over 1500 sea cucumbers daily. Besides that these people
lived in small boats on which they carried live chickens, as a source
of food, unwashed vegetables and other introduced organisms that if
they landed by chance on one of the Islands could germinate. It is
known that onboard the boats there were rats, mice and introduced
insects. They were cleaning their bilges and throwing all their
garbage overboard. Most of them were anchored only 20 feet from the
shore line of Fernandina Island.
When the cucumber fisheries was opened a limit of 550,000 sea
cucumbers, in three month season, was established. However, in two
months it had exceeded more than 7 million. By the beginning of
December reports on the abuse of the resource went to the different
official involved, to the news and to the press. There were reports
that the fishermen were not only collecting sea cucumbers, but sea
horses, snails, sea urchins and black coral. Also, one fisherman
admitted that they had already sent to Japan sea lion penises as a
try out for a new aphrodisiac. The Japanese buyer paid $50 dollars
for each penis. The 15th of December the sea cucumber fisheries was
officially closed until technical and scientific studies were done,
due to the abuse that had occurred in the first two months.
The people involved in such lucrative, yet devastating, enterprise
were not about the accept the new disposition. The first days of
January, 1995, they took over the installations of the Park Service
and the Darwin Station. They kept all the people inside as hostages,
including the wives of many of the workers and children. They
threatened to kill all the tortoises in captivity at the Station and
they threatened to start fires on little islands like South Plaza and
Santa Fe, also they demanded that Chantal Blanton and Arturo Izurieta
resign their positions as director of the respective institutions.
It was quite strange to see the total absence of the police and
military help.
In Quito some government officials said that this time they will not
let them get their way, and that the fishermen will have to change
their attitude, but on Friday, January 6 the director of the National
Institute of Fisheries went to Puerto Ayora and offered the fishermen
that by the 13th of January they could start catching sea cucumbers
again. All the people involved in tourism and science in Puerto Ayora
got together and decided to take actions in case this type of
activity started again. So in Quito and Guayaquil the minister
of Fisheries met with the fishermen and the people involved and after
getting pressure from all the environmental groups, the association
of travel agents, the association of ecotourism, the association of
tour operators in Galapagos, and the government of Spain. He felt in
the position to close the Pepino (Cucumber) fisheries until October
of the present year.
All the groups named above have got together to fight for the same
cause. Our aim is to persuade the government to close all types of
industrial fisheries in the Galapagos, to stop all type of
exportation of any resource that comes from the Islands, to include
the marine area within the National Park and be managed by only one
institution and to make the law come true. As you know there is a
master plan to manage the marine resources reserve, but it is
completely ignored.
We have strong reason to beleive that there is someone very powerful
involved in the exploitation and commercialization of sea cucumbers
in the Galapagos waters. It seems the Ecuadorian government is doing
very little to fight against this type of exploitation. however we
have noticed that when there is international pressure their attitude
changes.
If you could get together in the States and write a demanding letter
to the President of Ecuador, I think that they may think twice about
opening the Pepino or any other type of fisheries in the Galapagos.
In fact I think that the same letter should be sent to the Ecuadorian
press. The address of the President of Ecuador is:
Arq. Sixto Duran Ballen
Presidente Constitucional de la Republica de Ecuador
Palacia de Gobierna
Quito - ECUADOR
We are sending information in regards all this matter to Jack Grove.
Please contact him if you need more detailed information or if you
need to coordinate any moves from your side.
It is time that the world demands from the Ecuadorian government the
right type of management for the Galapagos Islands as a whole.
We need international pressure and demands in order to save the
Galapagos Islands. We appreciate your help very much. Let us know if
you need more information.
With best regards,
(Signed) Macarena Green
FAX: 593-2-443188
***End of Original FAX***
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 12:35:08 +0800 (U)
From: Matt James <matt.james@SONOMA.EDU>
To: Phil Agre <pagre@weber.ucsd.edu>
Subject: Re: Galapagos
Dear Phil - I have been answering tons of e-mail about Galapagos, and didn't
recall getting back to you. The original posting was titled Galapagos Crisis.
If you could post it to your list I would be very appreciative.
As far as an update is concerned, the situation is stable in the islands,
Darwin Sation is back to work, a 2 month evaluation period is in effect (not
sure what will happen after that), the pepino (sea cucumber) fishermen are
not active right now. Not sure what is happening with killing sea lions,
hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, and other marine organisms in the
nearshore waters of the islands.
Thank you for assisting me in bringing this problem to the attention of the
international scientific community. With best regards, Matt James.