It started with conservation officers who alerted the Ecuadorian Navy. A Chinese reefer vessel was inspected east of the Island of San Cristobal inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve and subsequently detained.
The Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was boarded and detained as inspectors found an estimated 300 tonnes of frozen shark on board, including protected species such as hammerhead sharks.
The Galapagos archipelago is a UNESCO world heritage site, due to the region’s rich biodiversity
The Galapagos National Park is collaborating with the Public Prosecutor’s Office to process all the necessary information in order to proceed according to the law in this alleged environmental crime.
Minister of Environment Lorena Tapia said that she will remain “attentive to legal actions taken in Galapagos for possible transport and trafficking of protected wildlife in a captured vessel. We have a zero tolerance policy towards crimes against nature.”
The twenty crew of the the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 could now face up to three years in prison on Ecuador if found guilty of trafficking protected species.
