Ecuador accuses Chinese fishing ships near Galapagos of going under radar

Ecuador on August 18 accused more than 140 fishing ships operating near the Galapagos islands of cutting off satellite communications with the mainland in order to prevent the authorities from knowing what they are doing. According to reports, the fleet of around 325 fishing ships mostly consist of Chinese vessels and are still fishing in the waters near the ecologically sensitive archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Ecuador's Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Darwin Jarrin told the press during a conference that of the 325 ships, 149 have at some point cut off communications with the mainland. 

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'Breach of protocol'

The Naval Operations Command of the Ecuadorian Navy held a press conference reporting the relevant activities carried out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) due to the presence of foreign-flag fishing fleets on August 19. As per reports, the foreign fishing ships were not in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ecuador. The Ecuadorian Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrin said that it was a breach of protocol of high seas because the ships cut off communications in order to allegedly hide their activities. Media reports suggest that many ships also changed the name of their vessels to avoid tracking by Ecuadorian authorities. 

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Last week, Ecuador also registered a complaint about hundreds of vessels that converged around marine sanctuaries off the Galapagos Islands. China is one of the largest trading partners of Ecuador as it buys tonnes of shrimps from the South American country every year. According to reports, Chinese fishing ships have been arriving near the Galapagos since 2017, particularly in summers mainly for marine life, which is in abundance in the region. China had pledged to prevent illegal fishing in the international waters and had promised to seriously restrict fishermen, who engage in such activities, but experts suggest that it is not doing much.  

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(Image Credit: @armada_ecuador/Twitter)