LAST week the government of Ecuador gave in yet again to fishermen鈥檚 violence
on the Galapagos Islands. After the men attacked conservationists鈥� offices and
homes, harassed tourist groups, and kidnapped rare giant tortoises, the
government agreed to raise the lobster quota by 30 tonnes and discuss the ban on
long-line shark fishing.
Such action is becoming a regular occurrence in the remote archipelago, 1000
kilometres from mainland Ecuador. The islands鈥� wildlife, made famous by Charles
Darwin, has earned it World Heritage Site status.
The violence began last week after fishermen had reached their lobster quota
of 54 tonnes before the end of the season. Conservationists are dismayed by the
government鈥檚 capitulation. 鈥淸The fishermen] once again relied on hostility and
acts of violence to get what they want, and the government has made another big
mistake,鈥� says Jack Grove, a wildlife biologist in Tavernier, Florida, who
frequently works on the islands.
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Conservationists and fishermen have been at odds for years in the Galapagos.
The most notorious incident came in January 1995, when fishermen seized the
Charles Darwin Research Station and held staff and their families captive.
Fishermen wanted the government to rescind a ban on sea cucumber fishing. The
ban had been imposed after fisherman had harvested 6 to 10 million sea cucumbers
during an experimental fishing season in which they were supposedly limited to
less than a million.
The government met that demand, says Grove. 鈥淭he thing I find most alarming
is that there now is an established trend. Violence works.鈥� But Tom Fritts, a
wildlife biologist with the US Geological Survey in Fort Collins, Colorado,
argues that sometimes their demands aren鈥檛 met. Last April, for instance,
fishermen took young tortoises from the captive tortoise breeding facility, but
these were eventually returned unharmed with no concessions from the
government.
Last week, however, fishermen used the same tactic and took tortoises
hostage. They also vandalised conservationists鈥� offices and homes. Researchers
sought refuge in the mangroves, where naval officers later came to their rescue,
says Nigel Sitwell of the Galapagos Conservation Trust in London. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very
worrying,鈥� says Sitwell, who estimates that there are 150 conservation workers
on the islands.
Wildlife biologists say they feel sympathy for fishermen, especially as the
economic situation in Ecuador is so dire. But 鈥渢he Galapagos remains only one of
two places in the Pacific where sharks have sanctuary鈥�, says Grove. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a
sustainable resource,鈥� agrees Fritts. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e already depleted the sea cucumber
fishery in just a few years.鈥�