A fishing boat is seen from an aircraft of the Ecuadorian navy on 7 August 2020, after a fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged ships was detected in an international corridor that borders the Galapagos Islands' exclusive economic zone, in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Santiago Arcos / Reuters
A fishing boat is seen from an aircraft of the Ecuadorian navy on 7 August 2020, after a fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged ships was detected in an international corridor that borders the Galapagos Islands’ exclusive economic zone, in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Santiago Arcos / Reuters

By Santiago Arcos
9 August 2020

ABOARD ECUADOREAN NAVY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – Ecuador’s navy is conducting surveillance of a massive Chinese fishing fleet that is operating near the protected waters of the Galapagos Islands, amid concerns about the environmental impact of fishing in the area of the ecologically sensitive islands.

The navy conducted a patrol mission on Friday that included a flyover of the region where the hulking vessels are fishing, as well as reconnaissance by military patrol ships. A total of 340 vessels are currently in the area, the navy said, compared with some 260 reported last month.

Images taken as part of the flyover, which included journalists, showed that at least one of the vessels appeared to be ageing and in need of maintenance.

Ecuador’s Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Darwin Jarrin, said the navy has approached Colombia and Peru to share information and seek a regional response to the vessels, most of which can hold up to 1,000 tonnes of catch.

The fleet generally spends several weeks fishing off the coast of Peru before approaching the Galapagos.

An Ecuadorian navy officer looks at a radar after a fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged ships was detected in an international corridor that borders the Galapagos Islands' exclusive economic zone, in the Pacific Ocean, on 7 August 2020. Photo: Santiago Arcos / Reuters
An Ecuadorian navy officer looks at a radar after a fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged ships was detected in an international corridor that borders the Galapagos Islands’ exclusive economic zone, in the Pacific Ocean, on 7 August 2020. Photo: Santiago Arcos / Reuters

The fishing fleet has since 2017 been arriving in the summer months and fishing just outside the Galapagos territorial waters, drawn by marine species such as the endangered hammerhead shark.

Such fishing is not illegal because it takes place in international waters. But environmental activists say it allows fleets to take advantage of the abundant marine species that spill over from the Galapagos and cross into the unprotected waters.

“This is not something that will change overnight,” said Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Luis Gallegos in a television interview on Sunday. “It is necessary to … generate bilateral agreements with other countries with regards to illegal fishing, to monitor every ship that’s in the South Pacific.”

A Chinese vessel in 2017 was captured in the Galapagos Marine Reserve carrying 300 tons of marine wildlife. [more]

Ecuador navy surveils huge Chinese fishing fleet near Galapagos