Galapogos - new regs for 2008?

[Scared Silly]

I just recently got some info on the Galapagos and got noticed this:

Note: New regulations taking place in 2008 will ban 10 day expeditions to the Galapagos Islands, making the outer Northernmost Islands completely out of reach.

First I have heard of this ... any one else know more?

 

[ChrisM]

Can you provide a link or source for the info?

Even if the regs are true, it doesn't make the second part true. Pretty much every 7 day liveaboard I've ever read a trip report for have gone to Wolf and Darwin (it's only a 16 hour or so trip).

 

[Scared Silly]

Maricio Handler is running a trip and noted this. I found it odd thus my question.

 

[tel52]

I just received the January Undercurrent and it confirms the new regs for the Galapagos islands:

No more diving on Naturalist Trips - Only from dive operators

No more ten-night itineraries starting in 2008

There is also some discussion about further restrictions, like banning night diving (an exception anyway) and banning land excursions by dive operators (major bummer if it happens) but they are not in effect yet. This won't impact trips to Wolf and Darwin as they are already included in most of the seven day itineraries like the Aggressors.

 

[ChrisM]

That is a bummer. We did an 11 night trip last year, was nice to be able to spend a whole week at Wolf and Darwin

I can't undertstand why they'd ban land trips from dive boats. They already have to have Galapagos guides anyway.

[edit] - here's the undercurrent article:
http://www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/Galapagos200701.shtml

Sounds like the banning land tours for dive trips is a "scrue you" to naturalists not being allowed to dive.

I still don't know that I buy that a 10 day trip causes more pressure at wolf/darwin. When we we there, we were the only 10+ day trip, we saw probably 10 boats come and go. The remarks were that you used to never see more than a couple boats up ther5e at any one time, usually one. I think too many permits is the problem, not the number of days.

 

[Scared Silly]

The 10 day ban does not make any sense to me -

"In the past, passengers on ten-night dive trips did a lot of diving and quite a few land visits, too. That meant each individual on one of these trips created more dive pressure than any one individual on a seven-night dive trip, plus the same amount of pressure on the land as a second person on a naturalist trip."

They need to learn to count diver days and land days properly. And in the case of land tours they should count the tours in terms of hours on shore.