Galapagos National Park Service Appeals to the Fishery Sector for Dialogue
The Galapagos National Park Service is expressing its concerns regarding the recent protest actions taken by the fisheries cooperatives of "Horizontes" on Isabela Island and ¨COPROPAG¨ in Santa Cruz Island. The Park Service states that these organisations are not recognizing the established channels for the sustainable management of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), including legal forum of the Participatory Management Board (PMB). As part
of their protest, the cooperatives have blocked access to the offices of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation on the islands of Isabela and Santa Cruz.
The issues that have led to this situation include:
a). Dispute over the opening of the deep sea longline fishery - It is important to note that the deep sea fishery is currently permitted in the GMR. In 2003, the users of the GMR agreed to carry out a deep sea fishery pilot project to obtain the necessary information to make an informed decision regarding the use of the fishing method of longlines. The project results will be analysed shortly by the PMB and by the Interinstitutional Management Authority (IMA) with the involvement of all stakeholders of the GMR who participate in the decision making process. This pilot plan has been carried out since 2003 and was developed with the participation of the fishing operators of the artisanal (local) fishery on San Cristóbal Island.
The pressure exerted through this protest to permit the use of longlines without first taking into account the technical studies ignores the established procedures of the PMB and IMA, but more importantly ignores the responsible actions previously undertaken by the fishing sector to analyse
this alternative fishery.
b). Abolishment of the fishery regulation - In an extraordinary session of the PMB convened on 17 February, the fishery sector requested that the regulations of the Fishery Legal framework be abolished, which would effectively leave fishing activity without specific regulations. The other
stakeholder sectors opposed this request including naturalist guides, the Charles Darwin Foundation, CAPTURGAL (Galápagos Tourism Chamber), and the Galápagos National Park Service. These sectors indicated their willingness to search for alternatives and a motion for a process to review details of the regulations was raised, specifically those regulations that may affect the fishing activity. The motion was not accepted by the fishing sector.
c). Consideration of the fishing sector in the Special Regulation of Tourism in Protected Areas (SRTPA) - The fishing sector is part of the SRTPA, which deals with the reduction of fisheries and the development of tourism through local participation. This constitutes an important economic alternative for the community in general, and specifically offers a change in activity for the artisanal fishing sector of Galapagos. However, the recent reforms of
the SRTPA to the General Regulation for the Tourism Law put these opportunities at risk for the fishing sector. Due to this imminent risk, the PMB convened an extraordinary meeting on 9 February asking that these changes be abolished, in particular the changes related to the Galapagos Province set out in the General Regulation published in the official register No. 244, of 5 January, 2004 as these reforms to the regulation were not developed in accordance with the established collaborative management processes of the Galapagos Province.
d). Annulment of Trials - According to the Penal Code and Penal Process Code of Ecuador, the Galapagos National Park Service has the obligation of initiating administrative processes for infractions or illegal activities that occur in protected areas of the park and marine reserve, respecting the
legal procedures. Regarding ongoing trials being held for individuals charged with committing illegal acts against public property, the Galápagos National Park Service, as a public institution, has the legal obligation to press charges in the case of illegal acts. It is the legal responsibility of the judge presiding over these trials to establish the innocence or guilt of the accused individuals.
The Galapagos National Park Service is open to dialogue and invites all local stakeholders to participate in the search for solutions that will benefit all sectors, maintain the principles of participation established for the management of the GMR, and guarantee the conservation of the
Galapagos Islands and surrounding coastal and marine ecosystems.
Edwin Naula, Biologist
Director
Galápagos National Park Service
..Top
|
