Galapagos

Current Events
by Leslie T. Waldorf
Ocean Challenge

The Galapagos Islands
from Class Afloat News, September 23, 1996

Of all the places in the world with threatened habitats, the Galapagos stands to lose the most. Why? Because life on these volcanic islands evolved independent from other land masses, giving rise to exotic species that are found nowhere else. With the world's highest proportion of endemic species, 95 percent of its reptiles exist only on these islands, along with 70 to 80 percent of the insects, 50 percent of the birds, 42 percent of the land plants, and 17 percent of the fish. These species are not just unique but irreplaceable.

And they're in danger. Although a national park protects 97 percent of the land on these islands, a flood of immigrants has brought with it foreign plant and animal species that threaten native life. On Isabela Island, which has a high concentration of the famous Galapagos tortoises, out of control populations of imported goats are eating the vegetation on which these tortoises depend and burros are ruining their nests. These ancient, ambling creatures, which can weigh 500 pounds and live for 150 years, are defenseless to these intruders. Like many of the animals on these islands they have existed free from predators and without a need to defend themselves. Perhaps that's also why most of Isabela Island's land iguanas have fallen prey to imported dogs, another example of the widespread clash between native and introduced species.

The problems are not confined to the land. A marine sanctuary was created to safeguard the islands' surrounding waters, but commercial fishermen have nevertheless looted them. Feeding into an Asian market for delicacies, fishermen illegally kill sharks for their fins and harvest sea cucumbers. (They also burned protected mangrove forests to dry out these sluglike creatures for export.) A year ago, when the government tried to close the sea cucumber season, locals rebelled by taking over the airport and the Charles Darwin Research Center, and threatening to kill the tortoises. Since then commercial fishermen have begun illegal harvests of seahorses and pipefish because they are valued in Asia.

There's trouble in paradise. To deal with the damage being done today, immigration needs to be brought under control and wise fishing practices enforced. Otherwise, the unique animals of Galapagos will be lost.