Galapagos - Ecuadorean Presidential Decree

[girellator]

Well, I think many people would agree with that. It would also be better for Galapagos if there were no humans, cats, dogs or other non-native species on the islands but that's equally unrealistic.

It seems that some divers were not such a bad thing for the poor sharks of the Galapagos !!!
Look at post 210 ..what's happening now !!!

For sure without divers at Wolf and Darwin they are going to kill all the sharks !!!

 

[baitballer]

With less than two days to go before our trip we have been cancelled! We were told than we could not go to Wolf and Darwin and the operators had yet again been let down by the GNP so the permit they had been promised did not materialise.

It comes down to the fact that the longliners, and according to some reports up to 50 of them, are operating at W & D and no-one wants the world to see this happening. They have been given the go ahead to secure votes at the up and coming elections apparantly!

So they are having a short term boom selling shark fins and in a few weeks when all the sharks are gone they will go somewhere else. In the meantime I am not sure what the point will be in going to Wolf & Darwin, maybe the rocks are pretty? As a result the liveaboards will suffer and the filter down effect this has such as flights, hotel rooms, etc etc.

We were given an option to go and do some land based stuff and some local diving using a local operator which is what the majority of the liveaboards are currently doing. The main reason we did not do this was because we really wanted to dive Wolf and Darwin and we simply did not want to basically support the situation there. By landing in the Galapagos and handing over money to the GNP we would effctively be supporting them and the governement saying what a good job they are doing when actually they are doing completly the opposite.

I would much rather give the money to the shark trust and stay at home rather than support the whole situation. I will never book to go back for two reason; unfortunatly I have my doubts whether there will be anything to see (A few weeks of 50 longliners and the seas will be empty there) and I refuse to support the GNP or the governement until they get there act together which does not appear to be happening anytime soon.

If you have a trip booked anytime in the next year I wish you well. Hopefully the whole situation changes very quickly without to much damage to both the environment and the dive industry. Hopefully there will still be some sharks there for you too see!

 

[girellator]

With less than two days to go before our trip we have been cancelled! We were told than we could not go to Wolf and Darwin and the operators had yet again been let down by the GNP so the permit they had been promised did not materialise.

It comes down to the fact that the longliners, and according to some reports up to 50 of them, are operating at W & D and no-one wants the world to see this happening. They have been given the go ahead to secure votes at the up and coming elections apparantly!

So they are having a short term boom selling shark fins and in a few weeks when all the sharks are gone they will go somewhere else. In the meantime I am not sure what the point will be in going to Wolf & Darwin, maybe the rocks are pretty? As a result the liveaboards will suffer and the filter down effect this has such as flights, hotel rooms, etc etc.

We were given an option to go and do some land based stuff and some local diving using a local operator which is what the majority of the liveaboards are currently doing. The main reason we did not do this was because we really wanted to dive Wolf and Darwin and we simply did not want to basically support the situation there. By landing in the Galapagos and handing over money to the GNP we would effctively be supporting them and the governement saying what a good job they are doing when actually they are doing completly the opposite.

I would much rather give the money to the shark trust and stay at home rather than support the whole situation. I will never book to go back for two reason; unfortunatly I have my doubts whether there will be anything to see (A few weeks of 50 longliners and the seas will be empty there) and I refuse to support the GNP or the governement until they get there act together which does not appear to be happening anytime soon.

If you have a trip booked anytime in the next year I wish you well. Hopefully the whole situation changes very quickly without to much damage to both the environment and the dive industry. Hopefully there will still be some sharks there for you too see!

I agree completely at what you say , and so my husband!!!
We have been canceled three days before departure from France , we thought first to dive with land based operator , but for the same reasons than you we did not do so .
All this mess is a shame ...!!!!
My heart is broken when I think about all that is going to be destroyed.
I WILL NEVER THINK AGAIN GO TO GALAPAGOS!!!!

 

[Mossman]

It comes down to the fact that the longliners, and according to some reports up to 50 of them, are operating at W & D and no-one wants the world to see this happening. They have been given the go ahead to secure votes at the up and coming elections apparantly!

There will still be two Aggressors and the Sky Dancer monitoring the situation, not to mention Sea Shepherds, Greenpeace, etc. I don't see how a law allowing sale of bycatch fins necessarily equates to 50 longliners exclusively shark finning. It won't be much different than Cocos or Socorros or any of the other shark meccas which are routinely poached for fins.

Nevertheless, I'll do my best to report first-hand on the situation, since I'll be there in a few more days with lots of blank videotapes. Recent Aggressor trip reports have still reported seeing a few sharks around, so hopefully I'm not dragging the video camera for nothing. Besides, who'd want a bowl of soup big enough for a whale shark fin?

 

[girellator]

I just received a mail from galapagos adventures , he explain many things there :

http://www.galapagosadventures.com/dive_issue/index.html

in fact inside I've also my answer for Paul Watson and sea sheperd :

Furthermore the Ecuadorian Government has not renewed the contract that it had with Sea Shepherd International, a company that provided ships to patrol Galapagos waters in search of illegal shark fishing.

 

[baitballer]

Sea shepard boats have apparantly been told to leave Equador and between Thursday and Sunday the Aggressors and Peter Hughes are not at W & D hence noone is there watching.

 

[Mossman]

Sea shepard boats have apparantly been told to leave Equador and between Thursday and Sunday the Aggressors and Peter Hughes are not at W & D hence noone is there watching.

We'll be at Wolf on Saturday, Darwin on Sunday. Friday is definitely up for grabs for the finners, as well as Darwin on Saturday. It's too bad the Aggressors don't stagger their trips.

 

[cowjazz]

With less than two days to go before our trip we have been cancelled! We were told than we could not go to Wolf and Darwin and the operators had yet again been let down by the GNP so the permit they had been promised did not materialise.

Wow. You were scheduled on Deep Blue, correct? This, and the link in the other post contradicts a lot of information I received earlier this week. The roller coaster ride goes on and on...

 

[itsjustme0770]

some good news?

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-08-2007/0004642017&EDATE=

QUITO, Ecuador, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ecuador's President
Correa today appointed Eliecer Cruz, former director of the Galapagos,
World Wildlife Fund, to governor of the Galapagos Islands. Born and raised
in the Galapagos Islands, Cruz protected the unique life of the islands in
his work with WWF since 2003 and for eight years prior as director of the
Galapagos National Park.
"I am completely devoted to the Galapagos," said Cruz. "The Galapagos
Islands are a unique spectacle of life and beauty -- and it is home. Even
as a child, I knew that I wanted to give back to the Galapagos, to work for
their conservation."
His appointment by President Correa recognizes Cruz's unparalleled
passion for his homeland as well as his record of accomplishments.
Leading WWF's work in the Galapagos, Cruz concentrated efforts on
strengthening the Galapagos Marine Reserve. A key accomplishment was the
implementation of a zoning scheme for protection and use of the reserve,
which was supported by USAID. Over the past three years, Cruz also
organized and led a consortium of environmental NGOs to work with the
Galapagos National Park and local institutions, strengthening participatory
management.
During his tenure with the park, Cruz was instrumental in working on
the development of the groundbreaking Galapagos Special Law. This key
legislation created a marine reserve, banned industrial-scale fishing
within the reserve, and ensured that tourist revenues would support
conservation.
"Eliecer Cruz has proven himself a devoted champion of the Galapagos
Islands in his work with World Wildlife Fund," said Carter Roberts,
president and CEO, World Wildlife Fund. "With the Galapagos in crisis,
President Correa has clearly indicated his commitment to its protection by
appointing Eliecer. WWF remains committed to supporting Ecuador in its
efforts to conserve the Galapagos Islands."
Cruz holds advanced degrees in biology and environmental management.
Known in the United States as World Wildlife Fund and recognized
worldwide by its panda logo, WWF leads international efforts to protect
endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life
on Earth. Now in its
fifth decade, WWF, the global conservation organization, works in more than
100 countries around the world.

 

[suzbo]

that keeps getting worse. I think girellator's post with the link to the analysis from Ken at Galapagos Adventures is a Must-Read. While it's just his interpretation, it presents very clearly what is going on. Right near the end he says something that supports/clarifies what my husband (the Galapagos divemaster) said in an e-mail but I didn't entirely understand.... that boats must be for land-only or dive-only tours. It may be that when they sort it all out, this is what they will require, which stinks. While I would want to do diving, if I've gone all the way to the Galapagos, I'd sure want to go on land and see some of that stuff, too. And I wouldn't want to have to book back-to-back trips on two different boats in order to get it!

As to the possible good news posted by itsjustme0770: It's a relief to see someone with these conservation credentials appointed. But I am completely unclear as to what influence the Governor of the Galapagos will/can have over the Director of the Galapagos National Park. Clearly not a chain-of-command authority. Ultimately it's going to be Correa who has any authority over any of these folks. His action on the shark finning doesn't indicate that he has much interest in protecting the environment, but maybe his appointment of the new Governor of Galapagos does.

I think we're all just picturing the shark populations being completely decimated before they fix this, and it just makes me sick.