Galapagos Conservancy
July 24, 2007

An Important Update on Shark-Fishing

The recent addition of the Galapagos Islands to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites in Danger underscores the need for the Ecuadorian Government to take meaningful, decisive action on a wide spectrum of conservation issues surrounding Galapagos.  A recent Presidential Decree, which legalizes the sale and export of shark meat and fins under certain circumstances, is controversial and its implementation may have grave consequences for conservation efforts in Galapagos and Ecuador.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has repealed Decree 2130, which prohibited the fishing and trading of shark fins. With this repeal, fishermen will once again be allowed to legally sell and export shark meat and fins, with the proviso that they demonstrate to officials that the shark is accidental by-catch.   

Shark fishing as an industry remains banned in Ecuador.  However, should a shark be accidentally caught during legal fishing activities, that shark in its entirety may be presented to government officials, certified as by-catch, and sold in Ecuador or exported. Fishermen are banned from using gear or practices that would increase shark by-catch. 

President Correa defends this repeal, saying that it will directly benefit 200,000 Ecuadorian fishermen on the continent and will stop the black market by making these economic transactions more transparent.

We are concerned that this repeal will open the flood gates for illegal shark fishing. The authorities that will be responsible for monitoring shark by-catch are under-staffed, under-trained, and will be overwhelmed as this repeal takes hold.  The implementation of these regulations will be extremely problematic and open to interference.  

It is important to note that this repeal does not apply to Galapagos – the sale, capture, and fishing of sharks is still illegal in Galapagos waters.  However, many of the sharks caught in Ecuador are caught in Galapagos waters, leaving much of the burden of this repeal’s enforcement on Park wardens and police in Galapagos.

Galapagos Conservancy and our colleagues in Ecuador are mindful of the difficult political climate in which this decision has taken place and are monitoring the government’s actions very carefully. We will continue to update our website as we gather additional information.