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Over 300 miles long and visible from space, a threatening Chinese fishing fleet circles Charles Darwin’s ecological paradise.
The 325-person flotilla, with ships the size of a football field, descended on the oceans around the Galapagos Islands – where the rich biodiversity offers a unique glimpse of our planet.
Scientists fear the fleet will endanger endangered species both by plundering the oceans and in the 25,000 plastic bottles thrown overboard every day.
They say the boats, each swinging millions of hooks, target sharks that end up in expensive fin soup in the markets of China and Hong Kong.
In 2017, Ecuadorian officials, who own the islands, intercepted one with 300 tons of chilled shark fins on board.
(Image: Getty)
Residents spoke of their anger last week after finding a young shark stranded on a beach with its dorsal fins cut off.
And a recently extinct whale shark called Hope was shown by its GPS tracker for the last time the fleet was.
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Esme Plunkett, 23, a British marine biologist based on Santa Cruz Island, said: “I have never experienced such anger here.
“The people are devastated to see what these fleets are doing.”
Darwin visited the islands in 1835. The study of its unique species helped shape his theory of evolution.
Environmentalists say at least 18 species, including sea lions, turtles and marine iguanas, have been found entangled in plastic bags or lines, or swallowed in plastic.
Esme said, “In just 25 minutes, I found 45 Chinese labeled bottles in the rocks next to the iguanas.
(Image: Global Fishing Watch)
(Image: Getty)
“The waste is not unheard of, but it was in good condition with the labels intact. They take hundreds of years to degrade.
“In two years, I have never seen plastic waste like this.”
It is understood that the ships, which claim to catch squid, have now turned off their spotting devices to avoid being watched.
(Image: Esme Plunkett)
(Image: Reuters)
Oswaldo Jarrin, Minister of Defense of Ecuador, said: “It is a violation of protocol, they don’t want us to know what they are doing.”
Former Charles Darwin Foundation boss Arturo Izurieta, who grew up on the islands, says the danger is glaring. He said: “I fear for our future if this continues.
“It destroys the seas and the land. We have to stop it or there may be no Galapagos at all.
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