Sea Cucumber Fishery in the Galapagos Falls Short of Quota

After months of delays caused by rioting fishermen, court cases and political intrigues, the fishermen of the Galapagos managed to bully their way into conducting a sea cucumber fishery.

The government allotted them four million units (i.e. four million lives) to be taken between August 12 and October 10.The final legal take was 2,771,712 sea cucumbers. The fishermen were short of their quota by 1,228,288. However, this figure does not include the numbers taken illegally by poachers.

This is a positive development on one hand but a negative development on the other, considering the Galapagos National Park originally said that the species was already depleted and no quota should be allocated.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society patrol vessel Sirenian was engaged in the policing of this fishery during the sixty day period.

The Society is currently trying to raise funds for repairs and maintenance on the Sirenian to enable her to continue policing work in the Galapagos National Park.

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