The Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR) lies a thousand kilometres from the

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian mainland and covers an area of around . The

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

and the surrounding waters represent one of the world’s most unusual ecosystems and are rich areas of biodiversity. Recently granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the Galápagos Marine Reserve is the largest marine reserve in a developing country and the second largest reserve in the world.

Snorkeling and diving

In certain areas in the Galápagos Marine Reserve, it is possible for visitors to dive or snorkel, and many guests have come into contact with diverse aquatic species which live underwater:

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of . The whale shark holds many records for ...

hammerhead shark The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks that form the family Sphyrnidae, named for the unusual and distinctive form of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a Hammerhead shark#Cephalofoil, cephalofoil (a T-shape or " ...

s, rays,

manta ray Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...

swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

and

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s, etc. Other habitats within the GMR are the rocky seabed, vertical rock faces, sandy beaches,

mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withs ...

s and, to a lesser extent,

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s. A popular spot is Tortuga Bay on the Island of Santa Cruz where there is a separate mangrove where there are always white tip reef sharks

Animal life

Coastal lakes, moist soil and areas where freshwater and seawater mix contain unique species still to be studied. Cold, hot and warm marine currents come together here, generating a wide diversity of animal life: from small coloured fish to large mammals:

marine iguana The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of Iguanidae, iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a m ...

s, Galapagos land iguanas, galapagos crabs, Galápagos sea lion,

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s, Blue footed boobie, swallow-tailed gulls,

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a Family (biology), family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, l ...

s and the

galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a very large species of tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subsp ...

. The most unique species to the Galápagos is the

Marine Iguana The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of Iguanidae, iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a m ...

, due to its amphibious nature. It is the only known reptilian lizard that can forage in water and on land.

Environmental threats

The Galápagos Marine Reserve faces a number of environmental threats. The most pressing threats to the GMR come from over-fishing and

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...

. Some animals are always illegal to hunt in the Galápagos. The legal local sea cucumber and lobster fisheries are heavily depleted and may be close to collapse. This poses dire consequences for the oversubscribed fishing sector in Galápagos, likely causing local fishermen to turn increasingly to illegal practices, such as

shark finning Shark finning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark back into the ocean. This act is prohibited in many countries. The sharks are often still alive when discarded, but without their fins.Spiegel, J. (200 ...

, overfishing of tuna, and illegal export of sea cucumbers. Non-native species, such as cats and dogs, have also begun to pose a major threat to the fragile ecosystem found in the GMR.

Pollution and development

Pollution and development pose an additional threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The concurrent growth of the tourism industry and local populations means this problem will certainly increase. The population of Galápagos is growing at a rate of approximately 6% per year, more than double population growth of mainland

. The grounding of the tanker '' Jessica'', delivering bunker fuel and diesel for tourist boats and the Ecuadorian Navy, brought world attention to the marine threats from increased human activities on the Islands.

Conservation efforts

Many international conservation and science organizations are working to protect the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Among them are the Charles Darwin Foundation and WildAid, which is working to improve the capacity of the Parque Nacional de Galápagos staff to protect the reserve from overfishing and other threats. The

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

also maintains an office in Puerto Ayora, on the island of Santa Cruz. In November 2021, President

Guillermo Lasso Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (; born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. He was the country's first conservative president in nearly tw ...

announced the expansion of the reserve by 50%, adding to protect submarine mountains northeast of the islands as the Hermandad Marine Reserve. It will connect with the protected area around

Cocos Island Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...

References

External links

*
Charles Darwin Foundation

WildAid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galapagos Marine Reserve Marine reserves Protected areas established in 1986 Galápagos Islands Nature reserves in Ecuador 1986 establishments in Ecuador Geography of Galápagos Province Tourist attractions in Galápagos Province