Alarm over discovery of hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels near Galpagos Islands [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

The fleet, found just outside a protected zone, raises the prospect of damage to the marine ecosystem

Dan Collyns in Lima
@yachay_dc
Published onMon 27 Jul 2020 20.01 EDT

Ecuador has sounded the alarm after its navy discovered a huge fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged vessels some 200 miles from the Galápagos Islands, the archipelago which inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

About 260 ships are currently in international waters just outside a 188-mile wide exclusive economic zone around the island, but their presence has already raised the prospect of serious damage to the delicate marine ecosystem, said former environment minister Yolanda Kakabadse.

“This fleet’s size and aggressiveness against marine species is a big threat to the balance of species in the Galápagos,” she told the Guardian.

Kakabadse and an ex-mayor of Quito, Roque Sevilla, were on Monday put in charge of designing a “protection strategy” for the islands, which lie 563 miles west of the South American mainland.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/27/chinese-fishing-vessels-galapagos-islands