August 5, 2020, 10:16 amBy: Kevin Verdezoto
Cecilia Torres, director of ‘Mingas by the sea’ in Ecuador, spoke to Ecuavisa.com about the situation that the Galapagos Islands are experiencing in the presence of a fishing fleet, mostly under the Chinese flag, which is now also contaminating the beaches of the islands.
“They are reporting to us through photos and videos, a large quantity of plastics with Asian labels, which are being collected on the beaches of Santa Cruz and Isabela,” Torres began speaking, denouncing the Asian ships.
“It is a fact, oil and fuel stains have been found from these vessels, which recharge their fuel at sea, they may not be following the processes in the best way and thus dispose of their waste at sea and arrive at the coasts of Galapagos “, the activist explained further.
Regarding the precision of the contamination, Torres points out how “new the bottles are”, and that this shows how they arrive: “the plastics have not been around for long, they are not fragmented, so you can see that they are from a nearby vessel”.
“Galapagos has a fragile ecosystem, we cannot let it continue to happen … this type of contamination is not something new, it happens, and it will continue to happen,” she continued.
Finally, Torres anticipates that they will send a letter to different international entities, so that they can comment on this: “we are going to send a letter to UNESCO, UN, in which we are focusing on the evidence of the treaties signed in favor of Galapagos, asking for help and above all to apply scientific research on the effect of the presence of Chinese ships in Galapagos. “
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