Sea Shepherd update - Galapagos 8/28 (fwd)
Larry Fletcher
We are in the midst of a very curious stand-off. We arrived in
the Galapagos with the Ocean Warrior on August 24 for the purpose of
re-supplying our ship Sirenian, and to bring contributions to the
Galapagos National Park.
Our greeting upon arrival was overwhelmingly positive.
Hundreds of people from the National Parks office, the Darwin Research
Station, and the community of Puerto Ayora came out in small boats to
welcome us, as we dropped our anchor.
Banners supporting Sea Shepherd are hanging all over town and
the Mayor of Puerto Ayora met with us, promised us his support, and
presented us with the flag of Santa Cruz.
On the first day, hundreds of children came out to visit the
ship. During a visit by about fifty boy scouts, the Port Captain
arrived to tell us that we would not be allowed to put our boats in
the water.
On August 25, the next day, the Port Captain said that Sea
Shepherd crew could not use local water taxis to go ashore. When the
National Park came out with boats to transport us, the Port Captain
retaliated by ordering all Ocean Warrior crew confined to the ship.
The Guayaquil, a large Ecuadorian warship equipped with exocet
missiles, steamed into the harbor at full speed and cruised by us
very close before dropping anchor beside us.
On August 26, the Port Captain sent out armed guards to refuse
all visitors to the ship except National Park Rangers.
The next day, all the Ecuadorian newspapers carried features
on Ocean Warrior's arrival in the Galapagos. They quoted me as saying,
It appears that Ecuador has the ships, the helicopters, and the
manpower to protect the Galapagos, they just lack the political will
to do so.
In response, the Navy sent in a second gunboat to guard us.
All of this is happening because Sean OHearn, our director
of operations in the Galapagos, has openly and quite rightly accused
Admiral Vega, the 2nd-highest ranking Admiral in the Ecuadorian Navy,
of corruption. His accusation was investigated and verified by a
government committee on corruption. Result: No consequences to the
admiral other than some slight embarrassment, and he has become very
angry with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Thus the Ocean Warrior sits at anchor under virtual house
arrest. On shore, students, members of the community, and rangers from
the National Park are protesting and organizing marches against the
Navy. Many thanks are due those who have already contacted Ecuadorian
government officials with their concerns -- the flood of phone calls,
e-mails and faxes to various Ecuadorian embassies immediately preceded
a slight relaxation on the provisions of detention placed upon our
crew. We hope this trend will continue, as we will need to see a
positive response to permit requests and authorization for change of
status in order to remain.
Why is this happening?
The answer is that since the arrival of the Sea Shepherd ship
Sirenian into the Galapagos in December of 2000, a major assault has
been underway against illegal fishing in the Galapagos.
The Sirenian was the first ship on the scene of the tanker
Jessicas oil spill in January. For over a month, Sea Shepherd
volunteers worked with the National Park to clean up the oil and to
rescue birds, sea-lions and marine iguanas.
It took three months for permission to be granted to the
National Park to allow the Sirenian to officially patrol in the Marine
Reserve. In March, Sean OHearn on board the Sirenian reported the
first encounter. It was the San Mateo, an Ecuadorian long liner out of
the port of Manta. Our inspection was halted and the ship was released
by order of the Navy. No reason was given. The ship was released
immediately without investigation after a phone call from Admiral Vega
who was, at that moment, having drinks with the owner of the arrested
fishing vessel.
Following that:
The Dilsun, an Ecuadorian long liner out of the port of Manta:
stopped by the Sirenian with 1500 shark fins and 300 shark bodies on
board. The Navy ordered the ship released with its illegal cargo. The
Galapagos National Park nonetheless moved for sanctions. The Navy
refused to allow the National Park to sanction the Dilson.
The Gaviota, another Ecuadorian long liner out of the port of
Manta: Previous public pressure on officials over corruption pay off,
as the Gaviota is released but has a tender boat and the catch
confiscated and receives an official National Park sanction, backed
by the Navy.
The Marie Cody, previously arrested by the National Park,
convicted, and ordered confiscated had the order overturned by the
appeal court. The ship was released after being held two years and was
allowed to return to the mainland. Upon reaching the mainland, the
Marie Cody was found to have suffered irreparable engine damage due to
a chemical abrasive that had been put into the engine prior to
departure from the Galapagos. She is not expected to return to fishing
in the near future.
The Canela II: Costa Rican long liner out of the port of
Puntarenas. This vessel was ordered confiscated by the court and this
order was upheld by the Court of Appeal. Barring direct interference
by Naval authorities, the ship will be auctioned. This is a legal
precedent. Never before in Ecuadorian legal history has a fishing boat
been ordered confiscated for illegal fishing. This marks the first
significant punishment for the poachers.
Indio I: Costa Rican long liner out of Puntarenas. At first
the Navy did not want to investigate this vessel. Sea Shepherd
volunteer Jill Kincaid was on the Sirenian and insisted that the
vessel be checked out. When the Navy officer on board refused, she
contacted the Director of the National Park. He ordered the boarding.
The Indio I was found to have been wanted for previous violations and
for defacing the National Park by painting the name of their ship on a
rock face in the park. The Indio I is presently being detained along
with her crew to await trial.
Sirenian also arrested three other illegal fishing vessels
since March. The Adonia IX, Don Antonio, Don Quixote and Calima. They
were sanctioned and fined $4,000.
The publicity caused significant embarrassment to the Navy.
They had not arrested a single poacher before Sea Shepherd intervened.
Since then, the Navy arrested four illegal fishing vessels within a
few weeks to save face.
It must be stressed that the threats here in the Galapagos are
real. One of the National Park officers serving on our ship Sirenian
informed the Park that he was offered $15,000 to put the Sirenian out
of commission. We are very cognizant of the fact that in a recent
Reuters News Agency survey, Ecuador ranked seventh on the list of the
worlds ten most corrupt nations.
We are also very aware of the economic and thus political
power that the industrial fishing industry wields in Ecuador.
COSTA RICA
On the Cocos Island National Park front: This jewel of an
island paradise lies four hundred miles from the Galapagos and some
three hundred miles off the coast of Costa Rica. En Route to the
Galapagos, the Ocean Warrior stopped at Cocos on August 20. At 0530
Hours, we spotted a poacher - an illegal Ecuadorian-registered
industrial long liner out of the port of Manta. She had seven tender
boats dispersed and some seventy kilometers of long line in the water.
Costa Rican law prohibits any and all fishing within eight miles of
the island. These lines were from two to four miles off shore. There
was one small ranger boat on the scene and the fishermen seemed to be
ignoring it until we arrived - and we presented an intimidating sight
- a large all-black boat flying our version of the Jolly Roger and
our decks bristling with water cannons.
The ship was the San Jose. She surrendered. We spent the rest
of the day hauling in all of her destructive long lines. Despite the
quick apprehension, the illegal long-liner took over seventy-five
sharks and billfish from the protected marine reserve. We did free a
few live sharks and one turtle. The San Jose was escorted to the
mainland of Costa Rica by the Cocos Island Rangers and detained. Her
Captain was arrested and Sea Shepherd will be providing video and
testimony for the prosecution.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society intends to increase our
assistance to the rangers of the Cocos Island National Park. We have
now established a close relationship with the Park officials and with
the Costa Rican group called Friends of Cocos Island. The Sirenian
will be staying in the Galapagos, where, despite Ecuadorian military
opposition, our five-year contract with the Galapagos National Park
stands firm. The Director of the Park wants us to increase our
volunteer presence and to include Sea Shepherd observers on the Parks
patrol vessel the Guadalupe River. The Director also is encouraging us
to register Sea Shepherd Galapagos and to open an office here in
Puerto Ayora. We need to organize a support effort for both Cocos and
the Galapagos. Cocos Island National Park needs an enforcement vessel
and they need equipment to protect the marine reserve. This Marine
Reserve is a World Heritage Site and it is the responsibility of
everyone, regardless of nationality to be concerned with its
protection. In the Galapagos, UNESCO has declared that the Galapagos
Marine Reserve will receive World Heritage status in December of this
year. The Park itself already enjoys this distinction.
Our visit to St. Lucia in July is still having repercussions.
Since our exposure of their whaling activities, St. Lucian officials
have been calling for Sea Shepherd to be banned from the island to
prevent any further discoveries. We intend to continue to monitor
illegal activities there and we now have a group of St. Lucians
working with us for this purpose.
Our visit to Tobago in August has established a working
relationship with Save Our Sea Turtles Tobago. Mikl Clovis of Tobago
joined our crew and we are hoping to have other citizens of Trinidad
and Tobago join us in the future. Most importantly, our patrols on the
beaches of Tobago saved numerous turtles from being slaughtered by
poachers.
Since Tobago we have recruited four non-human crew. An abused
dog that had been doused with boiling oil adopted us and now patrols
our main deck. We named her Tobago. In Panama we rescued and adopted
three new born orphaned kittens we found in the street where their
mother had been killed. We named them Gatun, Miraflores, and Gamboa
after the locks and a town in the Canal zone. All four four-legged
sailors are happy and doing well.
It has been a productive summer.
Captain Paul Watson
On Board the Ocean Warrior
Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,
Galapagos.
Position: 00 45 South 900 18 West
August 28, 2001
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
22774 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Malibu, CA 90265
Tel.(310) 456-1141
Fax.(310) 456-2488
http://www.seashepherd.org
seash...@seashepherd.org
----- End forwarded message -----