President Lenín Moreno forms a team of specialists for the protection of the Galapagos

The President Lenin Moreno announced the morning of Monday, July 27, through his Twitter account, the formation of a team of specialists to protect Galapagos .

President Lenín Moreno forms a team of specialists for the protection of the Galapagos

“I have formed with the Chancellor @lubegach (Luis Gallegos Chiriboga) and with the participation of @SevillaRoque (Roque Sevilla), @ y-kakabadse (Yolanda Kakabadse) and more specialists , a public-private team responsible for designing the protection strategy of Galapagos and respect for their maritime resources “.

A day earlier, the Head of State announced in his account that “we are going to work in a regional position to defend and protect the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the Galapagos Marine Reserve , one of the richest fishing areas and a hotbed of life for the entire planet . “
The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry reported that it has made efforts in both Beijing and Quito “to make the Chinese authorities know that Ecuador enforces its maritime rights without distinction of flags.”

“These rights are not violated, ” Foreign Minister Luis Gallegos said days ago , referring to the statements of the Defense Minister, Oswaldo Jarrín, who said that not a single Chinese or other nationality ship has entered the Exclusive Economic Zone, nor the island territorial.

Gallegos reiterated that through diplomatic channels he has made Ecuador’s sovereign position known to the authorities of China and to all the nationalities of the ships whose flags are present in the international fishing fleet in the equatorial Pacific .

According to the Foreign Minister , the Chinese Government indicated in a public statement that no ship of that nationality will enter the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ecuador and less to the waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The first extends for 200 miles around the archipelago , while the second reaches 40 miles.

“The Foreign Ministry is using all the resources provided by international law, ” stressed Gallegos , who arranged to undertake consultations with the Pacific riparian countries , especially Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Peru to advance joint solutions and intensify actions. diplomats aimed at combating illegal , unreported and unregulated fishing .

In this regard, the president of the Galapagos Governing Council, Norman Wray , stated that “it is important to promote the development of a new international instrument: the Altamar Treaty (TDA), to protect maritime areas outside the jurisdiction of nations (ABNJ acronym) in English within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Sea “.

Also, on his Twitter account, Wray posted; ” Heartrending data: Hope, whale shark : 09/2019 marked. It stopped broadcasting 05/2020. 280 days transmitting. Between ZEE and RMG insular. Chinese fleet white dots, coincidence ? Info: Jonathan Green and Alex Hearn ”.

“As a responsible fishing country, China applies strict surveillance and control measures. After consulting with the competent Chinese authorities and verifying with the Ecuadorian Navy, all Chinese fishing vessels are operating legally on the high seas outside the Galapagos Islands EEZ , which pose no threat to anyone and their legal rights must be guaranteed ” , the Chinese Embassy in Ecuador said in a statement .

While the businessman and ecologist Roque Sevilla , part of the team that made up the Executive, specified that there are four instruments of international agreements to stop Chinese abusive fishing: 1) UN Agreement regarding the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish and the populations of Highly migratory fish . 2) Convention for the Conservation of High Seas Fishery Resources of the South Pacific Ocean . 3) Agreement on port State measures aimed at preventing, discouraging and eliminating illegal , unreported and unregulated fishing . (FAO). 4) UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “Enough legislation to stop Chinese abuse.” (I)