Chinese fishing boats near Galapagos have cut satellite systems, Ecuador says
- 149 vessels in a mostly Chinese fleet are accused of turning off tracking as Ecuador tries to stop unsustainable fishing off its coast
- Boats have also had their names changed in an attempt to avoid detection, according to Ecuadorean navy
Of around 325 ships still fishing in the waters near the ecologically sensitive Galapagos, 149 have at some point in recent months cut off communications, navy commander Rear Admiral Darwin Jarrin told reporters.
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Nearly half of Chinese vessels fishing near the Galapagos cut off communications, Ecuador says
Some vessels’ names had also been changed to avoid supervision, he said.
“In this period, 149 ships have turned off their satellite systems … we know the name of the ships,” Jarrin said during a press conference. He declined to identify the vessels.
The complaint comes as the South American nation seeks to prevent unsustainable fishing off its coast while also avoiding a confrontation with China, its largest financier and a major market for its shrimp export business.
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A representative of the Chinese embassy declined to comment.
Ecuador says the fleet has not entered its territorial waters. But environmentalists say this type of fishing allows vessels to take advantage of the abundant marine wildlife that travels in the waters between the Galapagos and the mainland.
“It is a breach [of protocol] on the high seas, because they do not want us to know what they are doing and the activities they carry out,” Defence Minister Oswaldo Jarrin said.
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He said turning off satellite equipment violated rules created by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), a group of international agencies that promote sustainable fishing.
The New Zealand-based South Pacific RFMO, one of the organisations that provides guidance on fishing practices in the area, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Since 2017, the Chinese fishing fleet has arrived in the summer months to the outskirts of the Galapagos protected area, attracted by marine species such as the giant squid or the hammerhead shark, the latter of which is a threatened species.
