357 Sharks Found Dead on Boat in Galapagos Park
It appears as though the Galapagos isn’t even safe from shark fishing. Today, officials announced the arrest of 30 fishermen for shark fishing in national park waters, who now face criminal charges.
Park rangers an Ecuador Navy ship discovered 357 dead sharks on the vessel Monday night, which was detained 20 miles into the Galapagos Marine Reserve. While the incident is evidence that even marine parks are victim of illegal fishing, University of North Carolina marine biologist John Bruno some believes that it is also a sign that authorities are beginning to notice the problem.
"As sad as it is," Bruno writes in his blog, "I am really encouraged that the park now has the capacity to detect and apprehend illegal fishers in the marine reserve."
The physical toll: 286 bigeye thresher, 22 blue sharks, 40 Galapagos sharks, 6 hammerhead sharks, 2 tiger sharks, and 1 mako shark. The emotional toll: much higher.
