Downtown -- about sportfishing in Galapagos...

[Ray]

Downtown, I just received the linked message from the Galapagos Conservancy; apparently all of the sportfishing that's currently being done is Galapagos is illegal. I remember your being interested in fishing Galapagos, but it sounds like that could be a problem. I thought you'd want to know prior to your trip.

http://www.galapagos.org/news/04_2006_sportfishing.html

[Gingersdad]

Is the whole area considered the "Galapagos Marine Reserve" or only a section of it. Pete Santini who is one of the THT Banner advertisers has connections with a charter outfit down there. Maybe he can clarify??

[Ray]

From what the GC is saying, the reserve extends out 40 miles from each and every island in the Archipelago, effectively putting the entire Galapagos off limits. That's a real shame; there may be more striped marlin, yellowfin tuna, and wahoo in Galapagos than any place else on earth, but I certainly understand the need to protect the resource and also assure that the residents of Galapagos/Ecuador benefit from a sport fishery based in their country. Many of the "naturalist" boats in Galapagos used to let their pasengers fish when anchored up at night or when moving between islands, but this is a thing of the past; I even used to carry tackle down with me and give it to the crew on the boats I was on. I hope Pete can shed some light on this issue.