QUITO, Ecuador (30 May 2004) -- Galapagos Island fishermen on Friday ended a two-day protest at a national park office demanding the repeal of fishing limits that are aimed at protecting the archipelago, a park official said. "They decided to call off the protest until they can talk with the environmental minister next week," park spokesman Oscar Aguirre told The Associated Press by telephone. The pristine marine environment of the islands, 620 miles off the Ecuadorean coast, inspired 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This isolated home to exotic animals, including blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas, has become Ecuador's top tourist attraction. About 30 fishermen took over an office on San Cristobal Island late Wednesday demanding that the government lift limits on the fishing of sea cucumbers, Aguirre said. Sea cucumbers — close relatives of sea urchins — are sold as delicacies. | | This year's 60-day sea cucumber fishing season around the Galapagos Islands (news - web sites) begins on May 31 and the fishermen do not want the government to limit their daily catch. The protest came three months after nearly 50 fishermen took over the park offices on Isabela Island and the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, which is home to a giant tortoise breeding project. That protest ended peacefully after eight days following negotiations with the Environmental Ministry. The Galapagos are home to about 1,000 fishermen who have migrated from Ecuador's mainland. Park authorities frequently catch them using illegal nets to catch fish and capturing protected species. SOURCE - Envirolink |
