Advertisement

Chinese crew given four years in jail by Ecuador for illegally fishing in the Galapagos Islands

Reading Time:1 minute
Why you can trust SCMP
In this August 13, 2017 handout provided by the Galapagos National Park, a park ranger takes part in the inspection of a Chinese flagship where 300 tonnes of marine species, several of them in danger of extinction, were found, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. The ship and its crew were sentenced to jail. Photo: Galapagos National Park via AP

An Ecuadorean judge has sentenced 20 Chinese crew members to up to four years in prison for illegally fishing off the Galapagos Islands, where they were caught with 6,600 sharks aboard.

Advertisement

The Chinese-flagged ship Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was apprehended in mid-August with some 300 tonnes of near-extinct or endangered species, including hammerhead sharks.

The crew members received jail time of between one and four years, the judge said late on Sunday. They were also fined a total of US$5.9 million.

Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it had sent a formal protest to China over the presence of ships near the Galapagos, which inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Crew members of the Chinese-flagged ship confiscated by the Ecuadorean Navy arrive in court in San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands on August 25, 2017. Photo: AFP
Crew members of the Chinese-flagged ship confiscated by the Ecuadorean Navy arrive in court in San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands on August 25, 2017. Photo: AFP
Advertisement

It reported earlier this month that China’s ambassador in Quito, Wang Yulin, said his country wanted to take all measures necessary to “put an end to these illicit practises.”

loading
Advertisement