Updating the limits of the Brotherhood Marine Reserve was published in the Official Registry

In Official Registry 59 of May 10, 2022, Agreement No. MAATE-2022-041 was published, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, to specify and update the limits of the Hermandad Marine Reserve, in Galapagos , created by presidential decree on January 14.

The Hermandad reserve comprises 30,000 km2 of no take and 30,000 km2 of no longline.

The document specifies the limits of the Reserve, at a scale of 1:5000, with an area of ​​60,000 km2 (6,000,000 ha), located in the open waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ecuador. The description of the limit is made in a clockwise direction, indicating the information of seven segments that must be described by: start coordinates, direction, distance and end coordinates.

The 60,000 km2 area of ​​the Hermandad Marine Reserve will be maintained as follows: a 30,000 km2 No Take Zone in which extractive activities will not be allowed and areas of critical oceanic ecosystems, migratory routes and feeding areas for marine species will be conserved threatened.

Another Zone of 30,000 km2 is the Responsible Fishing Zone, where fishing activities are allowed, except for activities that include the use of longlines , in accordance with the Management Plan and the zoning of the protected area approved by the Environmental Authority.

According to the text, the limits of the Galapagos Marine Reserve were also updated, at a scale of 1:5000, with an area of ​​14275868.36 hectares, projected in UTM zone 17 south, located in the jurisdiction of the province of Galapagos, cantons Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Isabela, Bellavista parishes. For the drawing of the 40 nautical mile limit, the base line system of Insular Ecuador was used, raised and published by Inocar 2020.2021, and the 40 nautical mile limit.

Meanwhile, now the National Environmental Authority in coordination with the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, must carry out all the necessary actions for the proper management of the Hermandad Marine Reserve. .

These actions must be according to the scope of their competences, both in the No Take Zone and in the Responsible Fishing Zone , this as established and determined by the Management Plan and the Zoning approved by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition.

On the other hand, in financing the protection of the new Brotherhood area in Galapagos there would be interest from North American and European countries, as revealed by the Government months ago. The Reserve is expected to be operational between August and September. (I)