VICTORY IN GALAPAGOS - Sea Shepherd Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - "Andrew Christie" Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Oct. 25, 2001 VICTORY IN GALAPAGOS "We are all very happy here" The Galapagos National Park announced this afternoon that the appeals of the owners of the convicted poachers Indio I and Maria Canela II have been denied, and the vessels will be sold at auction. They are the first vessels ever to be forfeited for violating the Special Law for Galapagos, which prohibits all commercial fishing within 40 miles of the baseline of the archipelago. The Canela II was caught long-lining in the marine reserve by the Sea Shepherd patrol vessel Sirenian on March 22. The Indio I, out of Costa Rica, was seized by Sirenian on July 15 inside the Marine Reserve with 40 sharks on its 25 miles of long line, and her holds filled with 78 sharks and 1,044 shark fins. (The disparity in numbers is the mark of a shark finner: A vessel in the practice of cutting the valuable fins off live sharks for the lucrative Asian shark fin soup market, throwing the shark back in the water to bleed to death or drown.) Sea Shepherd sent its high-speed patrol vessel to the Galapagos in December 2000, and patrols began with Park and Ecuadorian Naval personnel in March 2001. "This is the vindication of all the work of the Park rangers, navy crew, and Sea Shepherd staff and volunteers who have made the Sirenian's patrols possible," said Sea Shepherd Galapagos liaison officer Sean O'Hearn Gimenez. "The long liner Mary Cody was caught inside the Marine Reserve with a shark catch last year, but released after a ruling by a judge that the owner's constitutional rights were violated by the seizure. Today's decision is a clear reversal of that defective ruling, a shot across the bow of the ever-encroaching commercial fleets, and a major victory in the struggle to preserve the unique biodiversity of the Galapagos National Park and all marine protected areas. Thanks are due to the concerned citizens of Ecuador and the world who have made it clear to the Ecuadorian government in no uncertain terms over the past six months that defending the Galapagos must be their first priority." In related announcments, the Tintorera, a 22-meter fishing vessel that has been sitting in port for several years as its owners fought to be permitted to fish in Galapagos, has been ordered to leave the islands permanently. The Magdalena, captured four years ago and sitting in port since, may be auctioned as well. An announcement is expected next week. "Great things are at last happening that will be precedents for the future," said Jill Kincaid, a wildlife photographer based out of Galapagos. "We are all very happy here." ### Sea Shepherd Conservation Society 22774 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90265 Tel.(310) 456-1141 Fax.(310) 456-2488 http://www.seashepherd.org seashepherd@seashepherd.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytenv-10.27.01-23:46:27-4134