This letter was posted on the ABS network and I thought you would be
interested.
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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:
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Quito, 12 de Enero de 1995
Quito, January 23, 1995
FAX: 707-664-2505
Attn: Dr. Matt James
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***
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