On February 19, 2004, 50 fishermen from Santa
Cruz and Isabela islands committed an act of terrorism. The local media called
it a "strike" for "freedom" when the fishermen took 33 scientists hostage,
seized the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park and the Darwin Research
Station, and threatened to kill the giant tortoises there (including Lonesome
George, the sole surviving member of his species). The "freedom" the fishermen
seek is abolishment of regulations designed to protect marine species,
including removal of the park's patrol boats, freedom to set longlines in the
Marine Reserve and sell shark 'by-catch'.
After an eight-day stand-off, Cesar Navarez,
Ecuador's Environment Minister, signed a pact to negotiate the fishermens'
demands outside the participatory forum that was designed to give Galapagos'
18,000 people a say in the matter. As result, on March 3, due to national and
international pressure, Navarez was forced to resign, and Fabi6n Valdivieso
was appointed in his stead. The fishermen are threatening more action if
Valdivieso ignores the illegal agreement signed by his predecessor.
Dissatisfaction escalates because the human
population of the Galapagos has swelled from less than a thousand in 1950 to
18,000 today. As the number of fishermen in the Galapagos increases, the
quotas for catches are distributed ever more thinly. Nevertheless, local
fishermen from the largest cooperatives, San Crist6bal Island with 700
fishers, did not support the actions of the 50 fishermen.
As in the past, this is a power play supported
by some local politicians and fish-products middlemen. Four years ago, when
they were demanding increased quotas for lobsters, the fishermen wrecked
research facilities, harassed tourist groups and threatened the lives of
Galapagos National Park staff. The government of Ecuador sent in troops, but
eventually capitulated, raising the lobster limit from 50 tonnes to 80 tonnes
to buy them off. Dr. John McCosker of the California Academy of
Sciences, who was in the islands during that clash, said the concessions were
"institutionalizing blackmail". "It's the short-term gain of a few fishermen
versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos," he said. "They are killing
the golden goose." Some of the turmoil stems from a 1998 law that gave
Galapagos residents more political autonomy and set up a marine reserve
extending 40 miles offshore.
The fishermen are demanding that they be allowed
to reap the abundant seas of the Galapagos Marine reserve, unwatched and
unregulated, where only tourism and local small-scale fishing is currently
permitted. "When there is no one watching, there is no control," said Eliecer
Cruz, former director of the Galapagos National Park and currently head of
WWF's Galapagos Program.
Giving into to those who violate the law only
promotes further disregard of it. Capitulation to demands of the strident few
will destroy the fragile marine ecosystem of this World Heritage Site, and the
livelihoods of people that depend upon it. Continued international pressure is
vital. SRI urges Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez to continue to protect
the unique wildlife of the Galapagos through sustainable use such as tourism,
rather than allowing depletion of the archipelago's natural resources.
SRI urges members to send letters to President
Gutierrez asking him to uphold the regulations of the Gal;§pagos Marine
Reserve.
Write to:
Lucio Gutierrez,
President of Ecuador
Palacio de Carondelet, Garcia Moreno y Chile.
Quito-Ecuador
Fabiản Valdivieso,
Minister of Environment
Avs. Eloy Alfaro y Amazonas
Edif. del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, piso 8
Quito-Ecuador
or, send your message to them online at:
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=15542&ms=www
gallapagos
and cc: your letters to the Director of the
Galapagos National Park at:
enaula@spng.org.ec
