MAY 2020
In the Galápagos Islands

• MAY 3
  Cruise ship workers on board the Flora among 100,000 cruise ship employees still unable to disembark worldwide due to the pandemic

  

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  MAY 6
  Ecuadorian-flagged tuna vessel arrives in Galapagos with seven crew members with suspected moderate symptoms of Covid-19

• MAY 6
  Shark fin seizure of 26 tons in Hong Kong, originating from Ecuador

  

  HK customs officials, including Danny Cheung Kwok-yin (center), standing in front of the 26 tons of shark fins seized in Hong Kong in early May 2020. Image by HK Customs.

• MAY 10
  Ecolife (San Cristóbal, Galapagos) nominated for 2020 Latin American Green Awards organized by the Total Environmental Solutions company (Sambito)

  The biodiversity of the San Cristóbal canton is receiving important protection thanks to this initiative that seeks to reduce a waste considered toxic: the vegetable oil used in the kitchens and deposited in the sewage network. To do this, Ecolife collects the oil used in commercial and tourist activities in Galapagos to use it in the manufacture of candles and soaps. The companies that accumulate the oil they use and deliver it are considered used vegetable oil managers, for which they receive a certificate endorsed by the Ministry of the Environment and the Galapagos National Park.

• MAY 10
  Tourism-based income in Ecuador projected to fall by 70% during 2020 due to the coronavirus

  

  

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  MAY 11
  Telegraph UK reporting related to the struggles faced by the islands’ tourism-based economy

• MAY 19
  Ecuador: Incidental bycatch triggers death of sharks

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  especial pesca – Ecuador 1
  Infogram
• MAY 19
  Initiative to prevent direct international flights to Galapagos from being opened. Tourists who arrive in Galapagos currently do so via connecting flights through Guayaquil or Quito in mainland Ecuador

• MAY 20
  Option to “not starve” or alternative “without technical support;” direct international flights to Galapagos in debate

• MAY 20
  Hotel Federation of Ecuador asks President Lenín Moreno to object to direct international flights to Galapagos
  
  Norman Wray, Governor of Galapagos, says that “Galapagos natural heritage would be at risk if direct international flights are authorized”

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• MAY 21
  Without tourism there is no money: COVID-19 stops 60% of the income of Galapagos

• MAY 21
  Officials argue that “Species extinction risk would increase if direct international flights to Galapagos allowed.”1,476 species have been introduced to the Galapagos since it was discovered. In addition, the extinction of 15 species is reported.

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  MAY 24
  The pandemic has stopped the long-awaited freedom of Diego, the “sex symbol” turtle of Galapagos.

  

  Diego has been in an ‘extended’ quaratine for more than two months due to the coronavirus, inside a corral in the Santa Cruz breeding center.

• MAY 27
  Protocol prepared for resident access to certain visitor sites and areas. Citizens can access the limited visitor sites from Tuesday to Sunday during specific hours. Playa de la Estación in Santa Cruz nd Punta Carola in San Cristóbal are reserved for people with disabilities, those over 60 years of age and pregnant mothers and children if accompanied by an adult.

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  MAY 28-MAY 31
  Galapagos Music Fest online music festival, “Natural Selection Sessions” takes place, raising money for food kits, PPE and PCR tests for the Galapagos Islands

  

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  MAY 31
  Google dedicates its doodle to Galapagos for being the first site declared Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. 2020 marks the 42nd anniversary of the declaration of the archipelago as a World Heritage Site on September 8, 1978.

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