Ecuador's navy ready to combat illegal fishing around the Galapagos Islands
Following years of training exercises, Ecuador's navy is prepared to protect the diverse marine life around the Galapagos Islands from illegal fishing.
Ecuador’s navy is ready to protect the seas around the Galapagos Islands from illegal fishing by foreign ships whose annual visits threaten marine wildlife in the archipelago’s waters, following training exercises with neighboring allies.
Training operations around the Galapagos, which sit among a mega-diverse marine reserve, began in 2018 after authorities captured a ship in the protected area the year before.
The ship, then known as the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, was flying the Chinese flag and was carrying 300 tonnes of fish when it was captured.
“The problem is that the number of foreign fishing vessels reaches a point where they begin to plunder ecosystems,” said frigate captain Guillermo Miranda, commander of the captured ship, which was renamed the Hualcopo after legal proceeds saw it permanently handed over to Ecuador in 2020.
“When they fish, they affect really migratory species, which in many cases are part of the Galapagos marine ecosystem,” Miranda said. “It’s a pretty serious problem, not just for Ecuador.”
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