One of the most important problems that the second largest Marine Reserve in the word has, the Galapagos Marine Reserve, is the insufficient patrolling and control over the industrial fishing boats that enter illegally into the reserve, chasing groups of tuna fish, or fishing for shark fins.

The “Guadalupe River” fast patrol boat, is the only effective boat that the National Park Service has in service to patrol the whole archipelago.

One year ago, the “Sirenian” fast patrol boat, owned by the “Sea Shepherds Organization”, was loaned to the National Park Service.  Since then it has done an extraordinary job, totaling 8 illegal industrial fishing ships chased and caught, with a great amount of evidence of illegal fishing activities to start the judicial processes.  The total number of illegal fishing boats that have been caught is 29, but none of them has been sold in auction.  The law says that if a boat is caught fishing illegally inside the Marine Reserve, it should be put on auction and the money will go into the National Park Service budget.

At this point, another problem begins.  The judicial system in Ecuador is so inefficient and corrupt, that no ship has been sold in action, or has even reached the auction process.  Most of them have been set free by paying a fee of about US$ 4,000, that is less than 1% of the total value of most industrial fishing boats.

One of the most famous industrial fishing boats that has been caught is the Costa Rican “Mary Cody”, which was caught in 1999 and the judicial process is still going.

Another ship that helps patrolling the Galapagos Marine Reserve is an Ecuadorian Navy Vessel, equipped with a helicopter, but the effectiveness of this unit is highly criticized. The Ecuadorian system is so corrupt, that it has also gotten into the Navy and Military forces. For example, there where two industrial fishing boats that where caught by the Sirenian, and the Navy didn’t let the National Park officers search the content of the boat. Later that same day, the boats were set free. This was an order that came from the highest Merchant Ship Control Board Officer (DIGMER), controlled by the Navy. After this happened the Sea Shepherds representative in Galapagos, a US Citizen, denounced corruption, so his visa was canceled, he was detained and expelled from the country.  INCREDIBLE!

The National Park Service has to pay the Navy, for the operation of the patrol vessel. Up to this date the National Park Service has a debt of US$ 190,000, so the Navy ship is not patrolling anymore. The Navy Ship has caught 10 illegal ships on year 2001.

This chart shows what has happened with the 26 ships that have been caught from March 19, 1999 to July 22, 2001.

Every patrol operation costs the National Park Service from US$ 6,000 to US$ 8,000 USD, for the “Guadalupe” or the “Sirenian”. For now the “Sirenian has a broken part and is anchored in Puerto Ayora bay, and the “Guadalupe” has one broken engine, out of two, so it cannot chase the illegal fishing boats.

The Galapagos Archipelago is for now, the safest place on Earth for illegal fishing activities.