A marine biodiversity hotspot

Ecuador is home to the Galapagos Islands, a unique archipelago teeming with marine life, including many species of sharks and rays.  The protection of this centre of endemism and biodiversity is therefore paramount.

Shark fishing has always haunted the backdrop of Ecuadorean affairs, although emphasis is usually placed on illegal finning by foreign fleets in Galapagos National Park waters. However, the country’s latest in a long line of short stay presidents, Rafael Correa launched the debate onto the world stage once more last summer by re-legalising the commercialisation of shark fins. At pains to point out that the move only encompassed coastal fisheries and that direct fishing for sharks and finning sharks at sea remained illegal, the move caused outrage amongst world conservation bodies.

Always a moot point between conservationists and mob rule fishing interests, several half hearted attempts to control shark fishing have occurred including a ban implemented in 2004 by ex president Lucio Gutierrez, but a strong black market in fins thrived in what many observers consider to be the most corrupt country in Latin America.

Correa implemented decree 486 which allows for free trade in fins from by-catch, whilst promising monitoring of all by-catch and a licensing system without which fins cannot be traded. Fisheries officials are present in all of Ecuador’s main fishing ports. Between September and December 2007 these monitors recorded in excess of 54,000 sharks caught along the coast, with 82% landed in the main port of Manta.

Although the decree has provided the first ever serious means of monitoring shark catches, conservation groups remain unconvinced. There exists no monitoring at sea, meaning direct fishing efforts could be distributing loads between Artesanal vessels disguising it as by-catch, and there is no programme ahead to implement conservation measures based on the new figures. The government figures claim that sharks make up only 2.5% of total catch, clear indication they say that sharks are caught only as by-catch, however, a closer look reveals that the percentage figure is derived from numbers of individuals, and not by weight which would account for a much higher percentage. Although decree 486 puts Ecuador ahead of many other nations in its shark fishing laws, there is still a huge way to go in effectively protecting Ecuador’s significant shark populations.

Written by Shark Trust supporter Mark Harding.

 Download the Protect Ecuador Sharks Factsheet (pdf)