"Ghost poachers” are still at large after the biggest shark-smuggling bust in Galapagos history
On Aug. 13, Ecuadorian authorities intercepted a Chinese ship crossing the Galapagos Marine Reserve, one of the most heavily protected nature reserves in the world. In its freezers they discovered 300 tons (270 metric tons) of fish, of which more than half were sharks—mostly illegal hammerheads and threatened silky sharks.Yet the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was not a fishing boat. Its crew, who now face jail time in Ecuador for environmental crimes, were likely not the fishermen. To fish commercial quantities of shark, you need tens of thousands of meters of thick fishing line, big, motorized winches, and piles of hooks, each the size of an adult finger. That sort of gear was not on board.Rather, the Chinese ship was a carrier vessel, whose job was to collect and deliver to port the illegal catch of other fishing boats. Its capture, likely one of the biggest seizures of illegal sharks in recent years, opens a rare window into the murky world of maritime poaching. And it has triggered an international hunt to piece together the puzzle: Where was it heading? Who was making money off of the smuggling? And, most of all, who were the fishermen and where did they catch the sharks? ...
We all need to be concerned about preserving the Earth as we know it. Some think that is irrelevant ... markets will solve the problems. The question is for whom? The middle-class American? How is that working out for you? The venture capitalists were interested in themselves not you.
A total disruption of the oceanic eco-system will lead us to where?
Fishermen Caught With 6,600 Sharks In Galápagos, Now Headed To Prison Colin Dwyer
WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #Galapagos
WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #Galapagos #FoxConn
WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #SOSGalapagos
No comments:
Post a Comment