Notes from October 27, 2004


Issues Regarding Commercial Fishing

• How commercial fishing threatens the ecosystem
• reduces numbers of endangered species
• changes ecosystem by removing predators/prey
• increases human activity in the Galapagos
• introduces illegal, non-native species
• encourages legal/illegal habitation of islands
• adds incentives to fishing for government to relax environmental law
  

• Commercial fishing vs. Subsistence fishing
• There tends to be some grey area regarding the distinction between commercial and subsistence fishing because some subsistence fishermen sell catches to commercial companies
  
• Commercial fishing
• for profit
• larger but fewer boats, thus less pollution
• easier to regulate
• tends to be practiced by the newer population of the Galapagos
• more opposed to regulations and restrictions
  
• Subsistence fishing
• for food
• tends to be practiced by the older indigenous population
• questions of what is considered indigenous since oldest human habitation on Galapagos began only around 150 years ago
  
• has not been as violently opposed to regulations and restrictions
• pollutes more becuase of large number of small boats
• much harder to regulate becuase of large numbers of small autonomous units

• Islands vs. Mainland
• Islands
• some have joined the ranks of commercial fishing
• appearing to be negative environmental impact
• depletes fishing stock
  
• average salary much higher on islands than on mainland
  
• Mainland
• fishing stocks became depleted in the 1990s
• oil crises and high unemployment lead coincided in 1990s
• tough conditions lead to immigration to the islands
  

• Stakeholders
• commercial fishers
• scientists
• tourists
• international demand for fish

• Solutions
• stop fishing down the food chain
• create limits or shares quota
• fix price or create minimal price
• fishing co-ops
  
• involve research in decisions making process
• education programs
• use existing institutions
  
• aquaculture
• tourism infrastructure on land
• retraining local population
• police illegal fishing

• Specific Case: sea cucumbers
• sea cucumbers are sought by asian markets
• limits on times they can be harvested lead to over-harvesting during that time window
• originally larger fish were the primary catch but since they have disappeared smaller species like sea cucumbers have replaced the larger fish as primary catch