Galapagos News

It was a shock, if not a surprise, when COVID-19 reached the Galapagos

Islands. The World Health Organisation declared the outbreak of the disease a pandemic on 11 March 2020 and shortly after, on 14 March, Ecuador shut its borders to the world. Flights to Galapagos were stopped almost immediately but the country confirmed its first cases on 18 March. A curfew was introduced on the

Islands between 14:00 and 5:00 to try to reduce the potential spread of the disease and the Islands went into lockdown. Sadly, by 23 March the first four cases were confirmed in Galapagos thought to be residents who had returned from

Guayaquil on the mainland.

There were worries that the fragile health system on Galapagos would be overwhelmed. Usually anyone with severe health issues is flown to the mainland. Thankfully the cases increased slowly. By 10 April, the government reported 10 confirmed cases in Galapagos – six on San Cristobal, three on Santa Cruz and one on Isabela. Two Galapagueños were also reported to be ill on the mainland. Of these 12, there were two deaths – one in Santa Cruz and one on the mainland. By 1 May, 107 cases were confirmed, including 57 cases on three boats moored within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Residents from the mainland were starting to be repatriated but no one was allowed to fly without testing negative for the disease. By 4 June the cases had only risen by another 14, including cases on another two boats and accordingly, the curfew was relaxed to 21:00 – 5:00. Sadly, despite the precautions being taken, a further case was found on San Cristobal on 12 June and five more on Santa Cruz on 18 June in people who had returned on repatriation flights. Tourist sites re-opened in mid-July and, at the time of writing, there are plans for flights and cruises to resume in August 2020, however this is subject to change.

NEW GNP DIRECTOR

gained a new director on 1 March 2020, Danny Rueda Córdova. An engineer specialising in socio-economic development and environment, Mr Rueda has spent 20 years working in protected areas. Over the last ten years, he was the Director of Ecosystems for the GNP, responsible for planning the management of protected marine and terrestrial areas. The previous director of the GNP, Jorge Carrión, is now the Principal Investigator on our Galapagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Programme.

The new director of the Galapagos National Park Danny Rueda © GNP

ILLEGAL FISHING 26 tonnes of shark fins were seized by Hong Kong customs officials in May 2020, found inside two shipping containers from Ecuador and thought to be worth US$1.1 million. This seizure, which included fins from scalloped hammerhead sharks, is more than double the 12 tonnes of shark fins seized in Hong Kong in all of 2019. This year, researchers have, for the first time, been able to trace shark fins from the retail market in Hong Kong back to the location where the sharks were caught. Scalloped hammerheads, now critically endangered, are the most common and valuable species in the trade. This new research revealed that the majority of fins originated in the Eastern Pacific, an area with a lot of industrial fishing, including fleets from China. In June 2020, the arrival of around 260 Chinese ships, prompted the Ecuadorian government to look into improving the protection around Galapagos, including the possibility of increasing the Ecuadorian Exclusive Economic Zone. This is a pivotal time for ensuring that key areas get the protection they need to help conserve threatened marine species.

© Andrés Cruz, GTRI - Galapagos Conservancy

DIEGO RETURNS HOME TO ESPAÑOLA

In June 2020, 15 giant tortoises returned to Española, the only individuals from this island to survive centuries of exploitation by passing mariners. For the past 55 years, these tortoises were part of a breeding programme, where they produced more than 2,000 offspring to save the Chelonoidis hoodensis species from extinction. Among the 15 tortoises was the famous Diego who, after several decades of living at San Diego Zoo, was returned to Galapagos in 1976 to take part in the breeding programme. At over 120 years old, he will live out his retirement on Española with his descendants who have been released to the island over the last several decades.

RARE SIGHTING OF RAIL CHICKS

Landbird Conservation Group with the support of the Galapagos National Park Directorate undertook a landbird population census on Santiago island, including Galapagos rails, in February 2020. This year the team was lucky to be there at the height of their breeding season and saw a number of Galapagos rail chicks, which is rare as they are normally very secretive birds. Santiago is thought to have the largest population of Galapagos rails in the Archipelago, and these sightings confirm that they are doing well on the island. The Galapagos rail is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to threats including invasive predators and habitat destruction. They are found on six islands, including Santiago, and are locally extinct on San Cristobal and Floreana.

© Michael Dvorak, CDF FERAL CATS POSE A THREAT TO GALAPAGOS WILDLIFE

investigated the threat of feral cats on

San Cristobal to local wildlife. Using GPS collars to track where these cats were going, the research found that the cats are a significant threat to a range of species but particularly marine iguana hatchlings. McLeod believes that the cats might also take advantage of the emergence of hatchling green turtles. The full paper is available online: rdcu.be/b3Rp8

© Caroline Marmion

NEW LEGISLATION FOR SHARKS

and Fisheries in Ecuador announced a multi-pronged approach to protect sharks, a result for which GCT’s project partner

Dr Alex Hearn has played an integral role.

“Ecuador condemns any act related to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, especially when these acts are linked to such a sensitive and important species in marine ecosystems as the shark,” announced the Ministry, adding that the sale and export of five new shark species will be prohibited, including the critically endangered scalloped hammerhead shark.

HOPE SPOT

Avital underwater migration highway that connects the Galapagos Marine Reserve in Ecuador and the Cocos Island National Park in Costa Rica has been declared a Mission Blue Hope Spot. Galapagos Conservation Trust has been supporting the proposed Cocos-Galapagos Swimway since 2018 by helping our science partners gather essential evidence needed to drive forward the creation of this 120,000 km² area, which is critical for protecting endangered Galapagos marine species including whale sharks.

Life under COVID-19 has affected almost everyone around the world, with huge swathes of the global population having gone through some version of a lockdown, and Galapagos is no exception. Ecuador shut its borders and stopped flights to Galapagos on 16 March, but it was too late to prevent the virus reaching the Islands.

Galapagos guide Pablo Valladares was on his way back from holiday in Nicaragua when he found himself trapped in Guayaquil, a city then experiencing an alarming rise in the number of new coronavirus cases. “We initially thought that we would get back to Galapagos within a matter of weeks, but we were still in Guayaquil more than two months later,” says Valladares. “In Galapagos, we are used to being active and watching the amazing wildlife. Even in our backyard, we have finches, yellow warblers, lava lizards and racer snakes. In Guayaquil, we were fortunate to be able to stay with my sister, but how would we manage confined to a flat in Ecuador’s second largest city?” From the windows of the flat, he could see green hills and a magnificent Ceiba tree across the street that was a draw for birds. “One of the things that brought real happiness was watching red-headed parrots flying in the morning,” he says. As each week passed, the longing that Pablo and his family felt for Galapagos grew and grew. However, they were just some of the 3000 Galapagos residents who had been trapped on the mainland. “It was only after 68 days in lockdown that we were allowed to return. When the plane eventually touched down in Galapagos, it was like being born again.” Thanks to the measures taken by the Ecuadorian government, the cases of COVID-19 identified in Galapagos did not overwhelm the fragile medical system on the Islands. However, lockdown restrictions were very strict. “Between 2pm to 5am, there was a total curfew,” says Anne Guezou, GCT’s Education and Outreach Coordinator who is based on Santa Cruz. “We had no access to beaches or the National Park and there were no flights to the mainland at all. I felt very restricted,” she says. “Also, there was the worry that if many people got sick, we were not equipped to provide intensive care.” With only a few shops open for food and other basic supplies, islanders became more resourceful, with local initiatives and entrepreneurs springing up to supply the

and his family spent their time © Pablo Valladares

OUR RESPONSE TO THE IMPACTSOF THE PANDEMIC community. “Local farmers distributed products door-to-door and fish was always available,” says Ainoa Nieto Claudin, wildlife veterinarian and researcher at the Charles Darwin Foundation. “Our diet changed since we were not able to find the same variety, but also improved as we ate more local and organic food.” But there was a dark side to the lockdown too, she notes. “Violence against women and children increased dramatically during lockdown, with a woman killed by her partner in Puerto Ayora. There have been protests against the local authorities due to the economic crisis and some people are taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit.”

The most widespread impact of the shutdown, however, has been the interruption to international tourism, the sector that underpins the majority of livelihoods in Galapagos. “With no tourists we have had to close our office, our boat is at anchor in the bay and our employees have no work,” says Manuel Yepez Revelo, the owner of Galapagos Sharksky Travel and Conservation, a small tourism company based on San Cristobal. With the business losing money, Revelo had to be inventive to make ends meet. “I started a new business, selling fish from my scooter house-to-house.” By mid-June, the incidence of COVID-19 in the Islands had stabilised, the curfew and other restrictions were easing, and researchers and conservationists were beginning to return to work. However, the interruption to fieldwork could have long-term impacts on the wildlife of Galapagos. “My main concern is the unknown, and likely negative, consequences on the survival or restoration of species or populations such as the mangrove finch, vermilion flycatcher and giant tortoise hatchlings. Disruption of data collection for long-term studies may render some data sets useless for analysis,” says Guezou. Disruption to funding streams could also impact key conservation initiatives, she says, including the project to restore Floreana and the research into the impacts of the invasive parasitic fly Philornis downsi (see Box).

Another concern is that in the wake of the virus there could be an increase in uncontrolled development in an effort to compensate for lost earnings. “I am afraid that the pandemic will be used to support management decisions that will go against conservation,” says Nieto. In fact, the upheaval has created new opportunities that must be seized, she says. “Lockdown has given us the perfect scenario to start over and do things better. We need to learn from our experiences and create new rules to ensure social and ecological sustainability for Galapagos.” Birgit Fessl, coordinator of the Galapagos Land Bird Conservation Plan at the Charles Darwin Foundation, agrees that now is the time to increase protection. “I consider invasive species to be the biggest threat for the wildlife in Galapagos. More support must be given to strengthen biosecurity at the borders of Galapagos and stop new species getting in either by accident or by people bringing them in.” For GCT Ambassador Godfrey Merlen, the absence of the usual human bustle has allowed him to see these Islands in a With your crucial support, we ramped up our educational and outreach activities in a bid to stop people turning to illegal activities; we provided funding for essential PPE to safeguard locals when producing food; we were able to continue vital funding of our ongoing species projects; and we are doubling our efforts to support the creation of newly protected swimways in response to the threat of industrial fishing fleets on the boundary of the Galapagos

giant tortoise hatchlings which are threatened by invasive species © GTMEP

Marine Reserve. way he’s never seen them before. “The sky has been swept with a deeper blue. The mangroves stand out with even brighter greens. The waves crest with a dazzling white and the crashing sound is louder in my ears. There is bird song everywhere,” he says. “The adversity posed by sudden cessation of the never-ending arrival of visitors has brought many in the Galapagos community closer to each other and to the precious natural world around us.”

blackberry © Ana Mireya Guerrero

We need to avoid an increase in unsustainable activities due to many people losing their jobs © Eva Horvath-Papp

© Dave Hansen, UMN As we made preparations for this year’s fieldwork, the weather was our biggest concern. Little did we know that there would be a global pandemic that would shut down research for three-and-a-half months in the middle of the bird-breeding season, a crucial window for testing methods to control the invasive parasitic fly Philornis downsi, enemy number one of the smaller Galapagos landbirds. These invasive flies, introduced from mainland Ecuador by accident, are experts at locating bird nests, where they lay their own eggs. Once the maggots hatch, they feed off the blood of young chicks, sometimes killing an entire brood. To date, P. downsi is known to attack 21 different landbirds, more than half of which are species of Galapagos finch, and is a serious threat to the survival of at least six species including the critically endangered mangrove finch. The parasitic fly also threatens some populations of the little vermilion flycatcher, the most colourful landbird in Galapagos.

Philornis downsi is one of the key threats

to the critically endangered mangrove finch. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the Mangrove Finch Project team was not able to provide the protection that the chicks needed in the 2020 season, so it is unlikely that many fledged successfully. We need to ensure that the team can return in 2021 so that they can combat P. downsi as well as control the invasive rat population that is also a threat to the birds. Please help us to ensure the survival of these rare birds and the other unique wildlife of Galapagos by supporting our appeal today.

You can read more about the appeal on page 22.

In a race against time, the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) and the Galapagos National Park (GNP) are coordinating a multi-institutional and multi-country project to research the biology and ecology of this little-known fly, with a view to developing effective, environmentally friendly means of control. One promising approach is biological control, which involves introducing one of the fly’s natural enemies from its native range to the Archipelago. Exploratory surveys on mainland Ecuador, led by the University of Minnesota and CDF, have identified a small wasp, Conura annulifera, that is itself a parasite of P. downsi. After five years of careful work, results indicate that this the go-ahead to bring a small number of wasps into a quarantine facility in Galapagos in order to assess whether it is safe to introduce the wasp to the Islands. In the meantime, we need to deploy other tools to protect the nests of those species at the greatest risk of extinction. Before COVID-19 brought put an end to our fieldwork this year, we were fortunate to have completed some trials injecting a small amount of an insecticide into the base of the nests where the bloodfeeding larvae reside when they are not feeding on the chicks. This work, carried out by CDF, GNP and the University of Vienna, has significantly increased the survival of chicks from four threatened bird species, including the mangrove finch and the little vermilion flycatcher. In collaboration with scientists from SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University, we are also investigating whether we can use fly pheromones and bird odours to lure adult Philornis flies down from the canopy and into traps. All our efforts to control this deadly parasite require a mix of ingenuity and perseverance. We are fortunate to be working with a large group of dedicated scientists who are not deterred by setbacks like that posed by COVID-19 and who will continue the work to ensure the conservation of the unique landbirds

wasp is a Philornis specialist. We now have

Philornis downsi larvae feed on the blood of bird hatchlings, often causing all of the chicks in a nest to die. © Henri Herrera, CDF

typically found high up in the tree canopy. © Agustin Gutierrez, CDF

Female little vermilion flycatcher feeding chicks © David Anchundia, CDF

breeding areas © Agustin Gutierrez, CDF

Last year we featured the striking black and red plumage of the little vermilion flycatcher on the cover of Galapagos Matters (Autumn/Winter 2019 issue), alongside the launch of our ‘Save Darwin’s Birds’ appeal. With your help, the first year of the ‘Saving the Little Vermilion Flycatcher’ project on Santa Cruz has been a great success despite the challenges the team has faced, so thank you to everyone who supported the project.

was a common sight on Santa Cruz. Since then, their numbers have dramatically decreased with only 40 breeding pairs now found on the island. In response to these declines, the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Directorate, in collaboration with

University of Vienna, launched a three-year conservation programme in 2019. The team identified six plots in key flycatcher habitat to focus their objectives and help mitigate against the main threats to the population on Santa Cruz. Firstly, the team began restoration of the plots to improve access to vital feeding grounds. The insects crucial for chick rearing are lacking in areas heavily invaded by plant species like non-native blackberry.

Furthermore, blackberry forms a dense understory leaving few open areas near the ground for adults to hunt. During the year, local workers and Park rangers continued to clear areas of invasive blackberry and sauco plants to allow native, endemic plants to grow freely. This work demands continuous effort, as invasive plants can quickly reinvade. Although all activities had to be stopped in March 2020 due to

COVID-19, thankfully four out of the six plots were fully cleared prior to lockdown, ensuring the birds could benefit from improved hunting conditions for longer. Reducing predator pressure via rat control is the team’s second key objective. After placing bait stations in the six plots last October, only one nest out of eleven (9%) failed due to predation in comparison to 22% of nests outside of the controlled plots. Further work to verify these findings will be undertaken during the next field session. Their final objective is to increase the fledging success of flycatcher nests. To do this, the team captured and banded ten individual birds, racked up over 80 hours of nest observations, and treated twelve nests with insecticide to reduce the impact of the invasive parasitic fly Philornis downsi (read more on page 11). The team saw the successful fledging of six chicks from three nests, all of which had been treated with insecticide. Again, fieldwork was stopped before the team managed to collect all the data on failed nests meaning data collection during the 2021 field season is even more important for these birds. In just the first year of implementing these conservation actions, the team has already managed to improve the breeding success for these beautiful birds compared to previous years, despite activities being suspended during lockdown. As Galapagos relaxes movement restrictions, scientists are returning to the field as quickly and safely as possible to resume clearing the plots and monitoring these vulnerable birds prior to the start of the next breeding season in November.

La Lobería colony, San Cristobal © Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez

known for their incredible diving ability to feed on marine algae.

The species are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; however 10 of 11 subspecies are listed as Endangered or

Critically Endangered. It is estimated that the San Cristobal marine iguana colony stands at just 400 individuals. Threats to marine iguanas include El Niño events, where their main algae diet disappears, and predation by introduced species such as cats and dogs. From the MV Jessica oil spill in 2001 we also know that marine iguanas are very sensitive to toxic threats. A study by Martin Wikelski and colleagues in 2002 found trace amounts of oil pollution from this spill caused a 62% die off in the Santa Fe colony. However, more recently, scientists have been asking how plastics and associated toxins (microplastics often accumulate toxins on their surface) might be impacting marine iguanas. A wildlife:plastics risk assessment by our partners at the University of

Exeter identified marine iguanas as high risk for both plastic ingestion and entanglement. In response to this, between June and September 2019, Jen Jones, GCT’s Head of Programmes and PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, and Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, Ecuadorian Islands are coming from, so we can pinpoint the most effective interventions to reduce the sources of pollution. This needs a combination of approaches, including predictions from oceanographic models and checking what is being found on the beaches. In 2019, research into developing a plastic flow model for Galapagos began, led by our partner and oceanographer Dr Erik van Sebille from the University of Utrecht. Early modelling work, together with beach surveys of plastics by a Galapagos National Park team, is giving us the first picture of pollution sources. We now know, in general terms, that the sources are (in order of scale) likely to be a few areas of the mainland - mostly northern Peru and southern Ecuador, marine industries - fishing in particular – and, to a much lesser extent, from Galapagos itself. These findings support calls for a regional approach to tackling this issue in the Eastern Pacific to reduce the amount of plastic arriving on Galapagos’ coastlines. Thousands of pieces of plastic wash up on the Islands’ beaches each year. Clean-up trips alone collect about eight tonnes each year but this is just the tip of the iceberg. PhD researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast, undertook fieldwork to quantify the pollution risk for marine iguanas and provide recommendations to the Galapagos National Park (GNP) for ongoing monitoring and conservation. Key questions include i) whether marine iguanas are ingesting plastics, ii) if location affects the probability of micro and macroplastic exposure and ingestion, and iii) whether plastics affect marine iguana health. During fieldwork, the team visited ten distinct marine iguana habitats, covering four sub-species across four islands. Data were collected to establish a baseline for large plastic items at these sites (and potential entanglement risk), using methods co-developed with the GNP rangers and our Plastic Pollution Free Galapagos research network. At each site, food availability was surveyed including any instances where marine algae interact with plastic (such as with fishing lines). Faecal samples from 98 marine iguanas were taken to investigate exposure to plastics in their diet and to complement comprehensive health surveys of these individuals.

We will compare more pristine, remote sites on Fernandina and Isabela in the west of the Archipelago to the more polluted sites on San Cristobal and Floreana, which also face greater pressures from invasive species. Analysis of the data and samples is currently underway, and results will feed into a hotspot risk map that will help to identify the sites in need of priority conservation to ensure marine iguanas are protected.

programme is identifying where plastics reaching the Galapagos © Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez Information from these trips is being supplemented by regular citizen science and drone-based surveys to help verify the model’s results and increase the accuracy of future predictions.

We are also undertaking archaeological studies of collected plastic items, a discipline known as ‘garbology’ where the ‘life history’ of an item is investigated to strengthen our insight into the item’s origins and journey to Galapagos. Interestingly, local observations and preliminary studies, led by archaeologist Prof. John Schofield at the University of York, have reported numerous items with Asian labels. Erik’s modelling indicates items from continental Asia would not reach Galapagos by ocean currents, so this pollution is likely originating from a much closer source, probably the fishing fleets that operate in international waters near Galapagos. This is further supported by the items’ ‘fresh’ appearance (i.e. they were not at sea for long) and has raised important questions for marine industry waste management practices. We are now developing a high-resolution oceanography model that will, in addition to pinpointing sources more accurately, show how plastic pollution moves within the Galapagos Marine Reserve once it has arrived. This will help us focus beach cleanup efforts in a timely manner, minimising risks to wildlife and removing items before they break into microplastics that can never be removed. Garbology investigations are scaling up as well, including developing methods to involve remote citizen scientists to accelerate analysis into the life histories of items found on Galapagos beaches.

who took part in the 2.6 Challenge on Sunday 26 April which would have been the day of the London Marathon. With your help, we raised over £500!

There were some fantastic fundraising attempts. GCT supporter Dougie Poynter from McFly filmed himself putting on 26 jumpers, one of our supporters did 26 volleys, and another 26 planks in 26 minutes! Nine month old baby Esther took 26 steps and Lina, aged 7 (whose mum works for our tourism partner Andean Trails), did a 2.6 km run. She had never run before but trained specifically for this challenge!

The pandemic has given us a chance to review the way we work, and how we communicate with our supporters. With many people now working at home, and more resources moving online, we want to give you the opportunity to let us know how you feel about digital communications. It is important that as many of you as possible let us know your views – details can be found on the back slip (p.23).

Storytelling is a fantastic way to engage children in science and conservation. That’s why we have launched a free six-part guided reading session designed for readers aged between 7-11. These resources are for teachers, parents and carers and were developed by our Education Officer, Sarah Langford, based on our storybook Marti the Hammerhead Shark: A Galapagos Journey. The downloadable pack will give you all the resources you need to be able to teach, inspire and discuss Marti’s story with children whether at home or in the classroom. The book is now available to download for free as part of the pack, but you can also buy a hard copy through our online shop. Why not take this opportunity to learn, together, about the animals that call the waters around Galapagos home as well as the threats that these species face. bit.ly/MartiGuidedReading

As you will have seen earlier on page 7, around 260 Chinese industrial fishing vessels were spotted on the edge of the Galapagos Marine Reserve in June, which is a shocking annual occurrence. On 17 July, the Galapagos Islands featured on the BBC News. President of the Governing Council of Galapagos, Norman Wray, and our Endangered Sharks of Galapagos partner, Dr Alex Hearn, were interviewed about these ships, and what the implications might be for vulnerable migratory species such as whale and hammerhead sharks. They also discussed how a large percentage of plastic pollution found on the Islands is of Asian origin, and the fact that these probably came from the Chinese fleet. You can watch the interviews on YouTube: youtu.be/b2EGEvxwXJw

Tagging a whale shark © Simon Pierce

It was dawn off Darwin, the most northerly of all the islands in Galapagos, as we prepared for the first dive of the day on 5 September 2019.

favour and a powerful southerly current made the diving conditions difficult, threatening to pull us away from the protection of Darwin’s Arch and into the treacherous open ocean. Beneath the water, we spread out along the lava ledges, hugging the rock and maintaining visual contact, watching and waiting. Within minutes, the unmistakable shadow of a whale shark passed over us from the north. We let go of the wall in unison, swimming upwards towards the subadult female and succeeded in attaching a satellite tag without her even noticing. Hanging just below the surface, we watched as the outline of this shark slowly dissolved before us, taking tag #184027 with her into the void.

It was almost two weeks later, back in port and with an internet connection, that we picked up the signal from this whale shark, an individual we decided to name Hope. Shortly after our encounter, she set out on a route that has now become familiar.

Darwin's Arch is where most of the whale sharks are tagged © Jonathan Green

© 2020 Google

Just north of Darwin (1), (see map above) some 2000 metres beneath the surface, lies the Galapagos Rift, an East-West tectonic divide in the ocean floor between the Cocos Plate to the north and the Nazca Plate to the south. At this landmark, Hope turned to the west like other whale sharks before her, apparently tracking the Rift out into the open Pacific. Hope continued her westerly travels until the last days of December, by which time she’d carried her tag over 3000 km from Darwin’s Arch. She looped back on herself (5) and headed southeast down to the East Pacific Rise, the fissure between the Pacific Plate to the west and the Nazca Plate to the east (6). Then, at the beginning of March this year, she dived and swam due east, resurfacing after some 500 km as if heading back towards Galapagos (7). But instead of making a single-loop migration as we imagined, she made a dramatic U-turn and swam west once more and in mid-May one of the many industrial fishing fleets that make this area one of the most intensely fished regions of the Pacific. After a month of no news, the team decided to check her last transmission. The data suggest that the tag was fully out of the water and that it was travelling much faster than the maximum

what happened to her and cannot be sure that she was captured. However, in previous years, two smaller female sharks we were tracking both stopped transmitting in this same patch of water. Whatever has happened, Hope has made history. She had covered, as the crow flies, the greatest distance that any of our tagged Galapagos whale sharks has travelled. She will, of course, have moved even further than this, as the satellite tag – which only transmits at the surface – can tell us nothing about the twists and turns she may have taken when out of range in the cold depths. Hope’s migration brings us closer to understanding the many factors – submarine geological features, water temperature, food availability and the drive to reproduce – that underlie the decisions these gentle giants make as they navigate the ocean. This is key she re-crossed her own track from several months earlier (8). Hope’s last transmission came at the end of May (9). We do not know why we lost insights that we will know when and why whale sharks are particularly vulnerable and how we can protect them throughout their incredible long-distance lives. touch at this point in her travels. It’s possible This project is part of our Endangered that she dived down to 1800m or more, a Sharks of Galapagos Programme and depth at which the extreme pressure would benefits from the support of the Prince have crushed the satellite tag. Alternatively, Albert II of Monaco Foundation and worryingly, she may have encountered (www.fpa2.org). to their conservation, as it is only with these speed of a whale shark. Despite being the largest fish in the ocean, little We cannot say for certain is known about whale sharks © Jonathan Green

The disappearance earlier this year of Hope captured global interest, especially as her tag stopped working in an area of high industrial fishing effort. Every year industrial fishing fleets gather between the boundary of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) and the Ecuadorian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to make the most of the abundance of fish. There are serious concerns for the marine wildlife of Galapagos as many migratory species, including whale sharks, leave the safety of the GMR to travel to foraging and breeding grounds. The arrival of around 260 Chinese fishing vessels in June 2020 has led to the Ecuadorian government working on a ‘protection strategy’ for the Galapagos Islands, which could include extending both the EEZ and the GMR to cut off the corridor of international waters between the two areas.

where they go, and why © Simon Pierce