After years of training, the Navy of Ecuador, a South American country, is prepared to protect the diverse marine life around the Galapagos Islands and combat illegal fishing. These illegal fishing vessels visit the islands annually, posing a threat to the marine ecosystem of the archipelago, with Chinese fishing vessels being particularly rampant.
The Galapagos Islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, and in 1986, the surrounding 70,000 square kilometers of ocean was designated as a biosphere reserve. In 1990, the islands became a whale protection area.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, from June 23 to July 9, six Ecuadorian ships participated in a training exercise named “Galapex III” along with ships from the United States, Peru, and Colombia navies. The exercise simulated interception and boarding actions against fishing vessels, aiming to combat illegal fishing activities at sea.
In recent years, several coastal countries have accused Chinese fishing vessels of overfishing, leading to severe ecological and environmental damage in the region, including Ecuador.
Reportedly, in 2017, the Ecuadorian Navy intercepted the ocean-going transportation vessel “Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999” under Fujian Fuzhou Honglong Aquatic Products Company in the protected area. The ship was loaded with 300 tons of illegally caught fish, including 6223 shark fins, among them 600 endangered basking sharks, 4138 silky sharks, 631 oceanic whitetip sharks, and 218 bigeye thresher sharks. The fishing vessel was flying the flag of the People’s Republic of China. The crew of the vessel was sentenced to three years in prison in 2017, and the owner was fined $6 million.
Now, this vessel has been repurposed by the Ecuadorian Navy, renamed “Hualcopo,” following legal procedures and permanently transferred to Ecuador in 2020. It is now engaged in environmental patrols in the waters near the islands.
Over the past few decades, the activity of Chinese fishing fleets in the waters of South America has significantly expanded, with the Chinese fleets surpassing those of any other country in the world.
The Chinese authorities claim that their fishing vessels comply with international rules in international waters, stating that the operational characteristics of squid-fishing boats do not allow them to catch sharks or other protected marine species simultaneously.
According to reports, in August 2020, the Ecuadorian government accused about 300 Chinese vessels of conducting large-scale fishing activities in its exclusive economic zone and shutting down radar systems to avoid detection.
In 2016, an Argentine Coast Guard patrol vessel fired and sank the Chinese squid-fishing vessel “Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010,” which was allegedly fishing illegally in Argentine territorial waters.
In 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel named “James” conducted an inspection for illegal fishing activities in international waters near the Galapagos Islands when it approached a fleet of Chinese fishing vessels. One of the fishing vessels engaged in aggressive collision maneuvers. After the “James” took evasive action, the fishing vessels accelerated and fled.
Reuters cited Captain Guillermo Miranda of the patrol vessel “Hualcopo,” stating, “The problem is that once foreign fishing vessels reach a certain number, they begin to plunder the ecosystem.”
He added, “When they fish, they affect the true migratory species, many of which are part of the Galapagos marine ecosystem. This is a serious issue, not just for Ecuador.”