Ecuador's sharks face threats from within.

Abstract

In their Letters, J. J. Alava and F. Paladines (“Illegal fishing on the Galapagos high seas,” 29 September, p. 1362) and L. R. Gerber and D. Quiroga (“Incentives for Galapagos protection,” 20 October, p. 313) referred to the threat posed by foreign vessels to highly migratory endangered species, such as sharks, in Ecuadorian waters. The Letters were prompted by Galapagos National Park and Navy operatives' recent seizure of a Chinese vessel carrying more than 6000 sharks inside the protected waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve ([ 1 ][1]). It is true that foreign fleets operating in and adjacent to Ecuador's exclusive economic zone (including Galapagos Marine Reserve waters) are a threat to sharks. However, the effect of Ecuador's own artisanal longline fleet on these species should not be overlooked. Ecuador's artisanal fleet is made up of more than 45,000 vessels, which are allowed to land sharks as “by-catch.” At least 250,000 sharks are landed annually, with a substantial portion of the effort concentrated along the Galapagos Marine Reserve border ([ 2 ][2]). Many of these sharks are both threatened and migratory, and they belong to populations that use the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Ecuador's artisanal vessels are not obliged to carry automatic tracking systems ([ 3 ][3]), so they could potentially slip into Galapagos Marine Reserve waters undetected. Furthermore, in 2016, an experimental longline fishery was approved within the Galapagos Marine Reserve, involving local fishing boats ([ 4 ][4]). This is the fifth experiment of its kind since 1997, and all previous experiments resulted in unacceptable levels of by-catch ([ 5 ][5]). The hard work of the Galapagos National Park rangers to protect sharks is thus also under threat from within. Fortunately, a new Fisheries Law is under discussion in Ecuador. The current draft of this law is promising ([ 6 ][6]). If approved, it will require artisanal vessels to have satellite tracking mechanisms to monitor their fishing activities and preserve their safety. This is an encouraging step forward. However, it is still necessary to strengthen national regulations to protect sharks through providing an unambiguous definition of by-catch and putting an end to the string of longlining experiments in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. 1. [↵][7]“Ecuador jails Chinese fishermen found with 6,000 sharks,” Reuters (2017); [www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-environment-galapagos/ecuador-jails-chinese-fishermen-found-with-6000-sharks-idUSKCN1B81TS][8]. 2. [↵][9]1. J. Martinez-Ortiz, 2. A. M. Aires-da-Silva, 3. C. E. Lennert-Cody, 4. M. N. Maunder , PLOS ONE 10, e0135136 (2015). [OpenUrl][10] 3. [↵][11]Reglamento a la Ley de Pesca Y Desarrollo Pesquero, Decreto Ejecutivo 3198, Registro Oficial 690 (2016); [www.acuaculturaypesca.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/12/Reglamento-a-la-Ley-de-Pesca-2016.pdf][12] [in Spanish]. 4. [↵][13]Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganaderia, Acuacultura y Pesca, Instituto Nacional de Pesca, “Evaluacion de las artes de pesca experimentales para la captura sostenible de peces pelagicos grandes en la Reserva Marina de Galapagos” (2016); [In Spanish]. 5. [↵][14]1. J. C. Murillo, 2. H. Reyes, 3. P. Zarate, 4. S. Banks, 5. E. Danulat , “Evaluacion de la captura incidental durante el Plan Piloto de Pesca de Altura con Palangre en la Reserva Marina de Galapagos” (Direccion Parque Nacional Galapagos/Fundacion Charles Darwin, Galapagos, Ecuador, 2004) [in Spanish]. 6. [↵][15]Draft of the Ecuadorian Fishery Law ([www.acuaculturaypesca.gob.ec/borrador-ley-de-pesca-2017][16]) [in Spanish]. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #ref-5 [6]: #ref-6 [7]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [8]: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-environment-galapagos/ecuador-jails-chinese-fishermen-found-with-6000-sharks-idUSKCN1B81TS [9]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [10]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPLOS%2BONE%26rft.volume%253D10%26rft.spage%253De0135136%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [11]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [12]: http://www.acuaculturaypesca.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/12/Reglamento-a-la-Ley-de-Pesca-2016.pdf [13]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [14]: #xref-ref-5-1 View reference 5 in text [15]: #xref-ref-6-1 View reference 6 in text [16]: http://www.acuaculturaypesca.gob.ec/borrador-ley-de-pesca-2017