GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador (28 Feb 2004) -- Fishermen ended a week-long strike in Ecuador's Galapagos islands last week after the government agreed to review norms in a pact that upset conservationists trying to protect the archipelago's unique wildlife. The fishermen seized Galapagos National Park headquarters and a scientific research station last week to demand more freedoms such as permission to use long-line fishing and sell fins from sharks accidentally caught in the islands. The strike had environmentalists worried that Quito would bend to pressure and loosen norms they say are key to protect marine life like sea lions and turtles, in order to restore park patrols, some of which were blocked by the protests. The islands are home to sea lions, iguanas, giant tortoises and birds. Last week, Environment Minister Cesar Narvaez signed a pact with fishermen to form a committee to review the norms and regulate long-line fishing in the islands, some 600 miles west of Ecuador's coast in the Pacific Ocean. "The protests have been suspended. We have cleaned up the areas of the park where we were camping out," said Rogelio Guaycha, head of Galapagos' 1,000-strong fishermen's union. But environmentalists saw the accord as a victory for the fishermen and a defeat for a participatory decision-making scheme designed to give the islands' 18,000 residents - who live off fishing and tourism- a say in their surroundings. | | "A four-year process to map out fishing norms has, as a result, been erased by the work of a single committee, where no conservation groups will be represented," said Cecilia Falconi, representative in Quito for environmental lobby group WildAid. "This shows there's no need to respect the law in this country, but rather go on strike instead," she said. Fishermen have long sought greater freedoms in the islands. One of the problems is that they are catching less during the key lobster and sea cucumber seasons due to a population boom in the islands that has depleted these resources. The islands, which inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, are a magnet for tourism to Ecuador. Environmentalists are encouraging fishermen to abandon fishing and take up tourism but locals complain that big Quito-based tour operators dominate the market. |
