Though he makes a living from the protected waters around Ecuador’s storied Galapagos Islands, fisherman Pedro Asensio has his doubts about an expanded marine reserve created last month by his country’s government.
“What for? If, really, they can’t even protect the first one,” Asensio, 48, said as he sat on a bench by Puerto Ayora’s fish market.
Born in the 15,000-inhabitant municipal capital of the Galapagos’ Santa Cruz Island, Asensio is one of 460 fishers who ply their trade within the 40 nautical miles that comprise the first Galapagos reserve.
Only small-scale, manual fishing by Galapagos residents is allowed within the first reserve, which was created in 1998 and measures 138,000 square kilometers.
The additional 60,000 square kilometers (23,170 square miles) added last month is the first step in a plan by Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to create a migration corridor between protected areas for species threatened by climate change and industrial fishing.
Fishing is banned outright in half of the new reserve, while in the other half lines with multiple hooks, known locally as palangre, are forbidden, though fishermen are allowed to use manual techniques like scuba diving to catch lobster.
Environmentalists say the expanded reserve will help protect critically endangered species – including hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and turtles.
But locals say enforcement is wrongly focused on them and not the commercial vessels – including a 300-ship fleet from China – which anchor in international waters near the islands.
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Galapagos fishermen skeptical of new marine reserve amid enforcement challenges