Despite a two-year moratorium, agreed upon by scientists, conservation organizations, and other authorities last year, sea cucumber fishing will resume this month. Ecuador's new Minister of Environment, Ana Albán, told reporters, "We decided to open fishing of sea cucumbers, mainly due to social and economic considerations."

The decision was made at the latest meeting of the Inter- Institutional Management Authority (AIM), composed of Ministries of Fishing, Tourism, Environment and Defense and by representatives of the fishing and tourist sector The authorization will permit fishermen from the islands to capture up to three million sea cucumbers in sixty days, starting June 12.

According to the Ecuadorian press, fishermen who attended the meeting, in a belligerent speech, threatened to strike again and paralyze the Park if they were not allowed to harvest sea cucumbers this year. A spokesman said, "We want alternatives for this activity, but we will insist on the opening of sea cucumber fishing. We are open to dialogue, but we have a social problem."

The fishing resumes despite studies by The Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos National Park and US Agency for International Development showing that the sea cucumber population has been decimated. In 2001, there were 34 sea cucumbers per square meter, In 2004, 5 per square meter. In 2005, 4 per square meter. In some areas it is zero. CDF presented the results of population studies to AIM, which indicated the sea cucumber population has shown no signs of recovery in the wake of what appears to be a collapse following the 2003 harvest.

Graham Watkins, Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation, said in an interview that it is possible that sea cucumbers have been completely lost as a commercial resource. They need a certain density to reproduce, and this may not exist.

The new Minister of Environment, Ana Albán, also stated that problems of fishermen in the Galapagos islands have occurred because the past regime did not pursue alternative work for them. She affirmed there is now "a commitment by the President of the Republic, Alfredo Palacio, to create a fund and to begin the relocation of the fishermen to other activities."

A CDF press release quoted Graham Watkins as saying, "The most important result of the meeting was that the AIM ordered the Participatory Management Board (PMB) to undertake an evaluation to modify fisheries management systems and present the final report to the AIM before December 2005."

The press release continued, "The AIM also requested the fishing cooperatives to begin a process to reduce the number of fishermen in Galapagos, whose numbers have grown from 682 in 2000 to 997 in 2004. The National Institute of Galapagos (INGALA) was also asked to develop an implementation plan to diversify fisheries and find alternative employment for fishermen in Galapagos."

At the recent AIM meeting, the Minister of Environment, Ana Albán, announced that no decision would be made on longline fishing. She said that a new technical study was needed to learn more about the problem of by-catch. (See previous issues of the newsletter for more on this topic.)

Meanwhile, an important study will be presented this month at a UN Conference on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. Dr. Robert Ovetz, of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, an IGTOA member, documents the huge costs of longline fishing, not only in economic but in social terms. His conclusions are highly relevant to Galapagos.

Here are excerpts from his report:

" The modest profits of medium and large-scale industrial longline fishing are negated by hidden costs generated by massive government and intergovernmental subsidies, risk of fishery collapse, damage to small-scale fishing, threats to local food security, damage to local marine ecosystems, and harm to more lucrative sustainable economic activities such as sportfishing, tourism, whale watching and diving.

Targeting highly migratory predatory fish species including tuna and swordfish, industrial longlines also catch or kill as many as 4.4 million sea turtles, billfish, sharks, marine mammals and seabirds.

A study of longlining in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico found that full-time longline vessels lost on average a total of about $3,500 per year and part-time longline vessels lost $23,500 per year, although these losses may not be apparent due to subsidization of the longline fishery.

Regional contributions to the U.S. economy made by recreational fishing are equal to the global value of the longline industry. South Pacific tuna fishery is estimated to be valued at $2 billion while saltwater recreational fishing generates $30.5 billion and nearly 350,000 jobs in the U.S. alone.

Industrial longline fishing damages not only stocks of billfish, it also impacts existing and potential ecotourism revenues based on healthy marine ecosystems.

When conservation efforts are successful in closing vast swaths of territorial waters to destructive fishing in order to stimulate a recovery of depleted or exhausted fish stocks, the same vessels that caused the overfishing crisis will use government subsidies to relocate to other fisheries or even the waters of poor developing nations, shifting the problem abroad far from public oversight and scrutiny.

Various types of MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) that range from "sustainable use" to "no take" have been proven to effectively preserve endangered marine species and rapidly increase fish biomass by allowing fish to reproduce undisturbed. In most MPAs studied, biomass has doubled in just five years, while those in Kenya and South Africa have grown between 700-800 percent."

The recommendations include:

· Implement a moratorium on high seas industrial longline fishing in the Pacific until such time that the species most threatened by longlining are out of danger.

· Support further biological research to identify remaining critical habitat for endangered marine species.

· Convene a UN special investigation of destructive fishing. · Ban the landing and transhipment of shark fins.

· Create a Pacific-wide network of Marine Protected Areas on the high seas that allow sustainable artisanal and recreational fishing and tourism along known migratory, feeding and nesting habitats of threatened and endangered marine species.

· Support sustainable small-scale fishing

For a full version of this report, contact exd@igtoa.org

A tourism website in Spain called "caribbeaninside" completely misquoted IGTOA as saying "tourism has dangerously surpassed all permitted limits, exceeding the cap of 10,000 travelers a year." None of that is true, of course. But the issue of Galapagos' visitor numbers is important and does need to be addressed.

IGTOA does not know the maximum number of tourists that should be allowed, or if a limit actually exists. We do know that the current number of foreign visitors is well below the total carrying capacity of the licensed boats operating in Galapagos, which is about 130,000 people a year, assuming an average of five nights on board.

Last year, the number of visitors to Galapagos exceeded 100,000 for the first time. Yet this widely-quoted figure is misleading. Only 75,000 of those were foreign visitors, and there was no differentiation between 3, 5, 7 or more days spent in the islands. (Sample country counts: USA: 32,864. UK: 9,114. Germany: 5,114. Canada: 3,220. Switzerland: 2,491. Australia: 1,714. France: 1,610.)

Three quarters of the visitors were from Ecuador, but this number is misleading as well. If someone travels to Galapagos five times on business and never enters a protected area, he or she is counted five times. Ecuadorians from the mainland who enter the islands and never return are in that figure as well.

IGTOA is interested in discussing the issue of tourism impact and limits. We will seek out and respect the judgment of those closely involved in protecting the islands.

Below is a link to "At Rock Bottom, the declining sharks of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, " a report published by WildAid in collaboration with other organizations.

IGTOA would like to welcome the following new members, in the order that they joined.

Adventure Associates (Australia) ,located in Sydney has jointed as an Associate Member.

LAN Ecuador is an airline that serves Ecuador from the US. It has joined as a Supporting Member.

Solar Tours, located in Washington, DC, has joined as a Full Member

Sea Turtle Restoration Project, has joined as an Educational / Nonfprofit Member.

AdventureSmith Explorations, of Tahoe City, California, has joined as an Associate Member.

Oro Verde Hotel (Guyaquil) , has joined as a Supporting Member.

IGTOA held its 10th Annual meeting from May 12-14 in Guayaquil. In attendance were Charles Darwin Foundation, Conservation International, WildAid, Rainforest Alliance, Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc, CAPTURGAL (Galapagos Chamber of Tourism) and ASOGAL (Galapagos association of boat owners), and the US Consulate in Guayaquil.

Results of the meeting will appear in the form of a new development plan to be launched shortly.

Next year's meeting will be held in Guayaquil and Puerto Ayora in May.

Conservation International has launced a new program called Verde Ventures. It is an investment program designed to strengthen small and medium sized enterprises that are strategically important to biodiversity. One component of the program is to provide support to sustainable eco-tourism enterprises.

This year at the Rainforest Alliance Gala in New York City, Santiago Dunn, President of Ecoventura, was presented with its prestigious Individual Sustainable Standard-Setter for making a significant contribution to environmental conservation and sustainability.

Ecoventura, represented by Galapagos Network in the US, operates four boats in Galapagos, Eric, Letty, Flamingo I, and Sky Dancer.