The offices of the National Park on Santa Cruz Island and the offices of the National Park on Isabella Island have been taken over by angry mobs of fishermen. Also taken were the island of Espanola and the tourist sites there. The mob is armed with clubs, lead pipes, & Molotov cocktails. Our unarmed Sea Shepherd Crew had a standoff lasting hours until just recently when the rangers & all persons were ordered out by the Ministry of the Environment, basically leaving the office in the hands of the Mob. Some of the Marines & the Police are still there but it’s a very touchy situation. Apparently there is help coming from the mainland.



However, our Sea Shepherd crew on Isabella Island is still being held hostage there, and that includes citizens from America, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland. There has been no word from them at the time of this release.



People are getting weary of this mob rule… anytime the fishermen make demands; they simply use violence to get what they want.



They were given a quota of 4 million sea cucumbers, that’s not enough for them, even though the scientists have said that none was too many. Now the fishermen are demanding unrestricted exploitation which is an impossible demand.



The fact is that the Galapagos Islands are a World Heritage site. We all have a responsibility to protect them, not just the Ecuadorians!



We possibly protect natural resources that don't have even this so called “protection”.



The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is asking that people write, fax, or e-mail the Ecuadorian government through the embassies in their countries and demand that the government stand up to the mob of violent thugs terrorizing the Galapagos.

El presidente Lucio Gutiérrez , Presidente de la Republica del Ecuador
Fax: 593-2-580-735
E-mail:  monica.iza@presidencia.gov.ec

Embassy of Ecuador UK
Flat 3, 3 Hans Crescent
London
SW1X 0LS
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 75842648
Fax: +44 (0)20 78239701
Consulate of Ecuador Canada
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 113
Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2
Tel: (613) 563-8206
Fax: (613) 235-5776
Consulate of Ecuador USA
2535 15th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: (202) 234-7166
Fax: (202) 667-3482
e:mail:  consuladodc@ecuador.org
website:  http://www.ecuador.org







Captain Paul Watson

Founder and President

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

www.seashepherd.org

Director-Instituto Sea Shepherd Brasil

National Director-Sierra Club

Director-Farley Mowat Institute

 paulwatson@earthlink.net

Satellite: 011-8816-3143-4290

Office: 360-370-5650

Fax: 360-370-5651

Cell: 310-701-3096