CNH Tours

According to this article in The Economist, while Ecuador complains about large Chinese fishing fleets just outside its territorial waters, its own fishing fleets are fishing illegally INSIDE its territorial waters and the government doesn't have the capacity to deal with it. https://www.economist.com//ecuador-a-victim-of-illegal-fis

In this pic, Galapagos National Park staff are removing a "aggregator" found floating in the sea. Aggregators are used by fishermen as a means of attracting large schools of tuna. Such floating objects are known to attract fish in the open ocean. They also pose a risk to marine traffic if not clearly marked. Aggregators are not permitted in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Jimmy Patiño - naturalist guide by trade, but in times of COVID, helping his father off-load his fish catch.

GALAPAGOS VISITOR ARRIVAL NUMBERS 2020 This table, from the Galapagos National Park, shows how dramatic the fall in arrivals in the islands due to COVID. It gives the monthly arrival numbers for both 2019 and 2020. It projects over 3,000 arrivals in December 2020, compared to 22,000 in 2019. The overwhelming majority of arrivals (95% based on personal communications) are Ecuadorian nationals living on the mainland. The Park estimates a 75% fall in total arrivals for 20...20 as a whole, with the lion's share of arrivals counted in 2020 having visited in the first 11 weeks of the year only. CNH Tours is monitoring conditions in Galapagos closely, and working with our main partners there to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible. With our guests, we raised $54,000 in support of ship's crew and office staff a few months ago. But we are not out of the woods yet. It's a great time to visit the islands for those who recognize and fully assume the COVID-related risks involved in travelling. We feel that those willing to take the risk will be rewarded with very good prices and the feeling of having the islands all to themselves. But you have to go into this with your eyes wide open of course.

This group, normally dedicated to supporting the conservation of the marine reserve, is now focusing on helping fellow Galapagos residents in need. They are managing a small farm for food production. This is the Google translated version of the text that accompanies this short video: As committed citizens, we run the CANASTAS HOPE social aid campaign.... April-November To finance our activities we do everything through self-management, mingas (ED: Community activity), and donations, using the tools we have at hand to continue building community. This motivates us to manage more, to continue building this project together with the community, where the main strength of action, are our beneficiaries, their families and our volunteers. We act and use the power that we have as a community to together change situations that are apparently irreversible. Definitely, sitting in the comfort of our home, waiting for a knock on our door, we did not solve anything. For this we act. Together we can transform urgency into action, indifference into empathy, pessimism into hope. We are more than a group. We are a community that lives in the Galapagos, committed to where they live. We have the power to produce, which becomes unstoppable if we exercise it TOGETHER. When we come together, by example, we can inspire, challenge, demand and drive bigger and needed changes. It is our permanent battle during these three years and we need your collaboration to continue. #TogetherIsPossible We are #FrenteInsularRMG #GalapagosMíResponsabilidad More Galapagos Info for aid and donations. [email protected] 098 435 8056 099 640 1806 See more