Galapagos Islands Fish
Galapagos Islands fish are just as amazing as the reptiles and birds of these lovely islands. Around 10 to 15 percent of Galapagos Islands Fish are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, making them fascinating to scientists as well as tourists. Here in the Galapagos Islands, fish you see every day will be sharks, whales. rays and smaller fish as well. The littoral zones of the Galapagos Islands fish community contain urchins, starfish, crabs, and sea cucumbers. Other species you'll see are reef fish, flying fish, needlefish and on and on!Galapagos Islands Fishing
The history of the Galapagos Islands fish industry starts with the first arrivals on the islands, who fished for Groupers and Sea Bass. They fished for survival and then later, Galapagos Islands fishing became an export industry. Then later in the 1930s and 1940s the main fish being caught was called bacaleo. Galapagos fish experts would catch it on a line and salt it and dry it to preserve it. They exported the bacaleo mainly to South America. In the 1950s Galapagos Islands fishermen caught yelowtail mullet, yellow grouper, and lobster. Thirty years later bacalao was only half the export in Galapagos Islands commercial fishing. The other half of the exported fish was groupers. Tuna fishing was not a big thing. Bacaleo are caught half the year, starting in Fall then ending in the Springtime. In 1992 Galapagos Islands fishermen went for sea cucumbers.Galapagos Islands Commercial Fishing
Since the early 1990s, commercial fishing has exploded in the Galapagos Islands. From 1993 to 2000, the number of commercial Galapagos Islands fishing boats tripled! More and more went out to get sea cucumbers but they still targeted fish and lobster as well. Annual catch of Galapagos Islands fish caught commercially is 626 metric tons.All this heavy fishing has sparked conservation groups who monitor the intake of fish caught by commercial boats in the Galapagos Islands. We have the Programa de Monitoreo Pesquero (PMP), formed in 1997. They work closely with other organizations like the Marien Resources Unit of Galapagos National Park, and with local fishing cooperatives.
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Galapagos Islands Marine Reserve
RMG, or La Reserva Marina de Galapagos, was established in 1986 by the Ecuador government. It's the second-biggest marine reserve in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef. 50,000 square km of water is found within the boundaries, inluding the shallower water between the islands of the Galapagos. Directors of the reserve come from all sectors, including defense, industry, agriculture, foreign affairs, energy, planning and mining. No commercial fishing is allowed within the reserve, but artisanal fishing is allowed. This is also called local fishing.Total area covered by the marine reserve has doubled to 140,000 square km because of abuse fo the regulations by anglers. It's patrolled by sea and from the air with around 20 marine patrol units and 11 patrol flights. Only Galapagos Islands residents can fish for sea cucumbers, which they call pepino. Even then, only April and May can they take sea cucumbers.
The Pepino Affair
Illegal sea cucumber fishing has become a problem in the Galapagos Islands fishing world. There are many Galapagos Islands fishermen who are used to taking whatever they want and whenever they want. They've exploited sharks and sea cucumbers for years, and they don't like the rules set in place by the Marine reserve rules.Breaking the marine fishing rules is called pirate fishing. They often go for shark fins, sea cucumbers and sharks. It's done by Japanese commercial fishing boats that have highly technical equipment for finding their target catch. Japanese people love to eat sea cucumbers, and shark fins are also popular there, as well as in all of Asia. Japanese boats full of sea cucumbers and shark fins are caught regularly by the Ecuadorian government. There are heavy fines and they get escorted from the Galapagos Islands waters. They sometimes sneak in by using local boats as a disguise, taking smaller catches out to the larger Japanese boat that waits way offshore.