Galapagos Islands Dive Guide

Set along the equator, some 600 miles off the South American coast of Ecuador, is the crown jewel of the natural world. The Galapagos Islands live up to our dreams of a sheltered place far removed from the usual concerns.

The skies are almost always sunny, and the sea breezes create that perfect air temperature that instantly relaxes the body. The ocean is an ever inviting turquoise blue, matched by long sand beaches of crystal white, pink, volcanic black and looking glass green. There are crystal coves and mangrove lagoons. That's just for starters. What makes your visit here truly exceptional are the many opportunities for close up encounters with wildlife. The islands and surrounding waters are quite literally teaming with exotic and colorful creatures that have never learned to fear humans.

Found at the confluence of warm and cold surface currents and deep cold upwelling waters, the waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands is one of the most unique and complex oceanic systems in the World. It is an interdependent system with many cold water marine animal and plant forms, mainly due to dominant cold water currents.

More than 2900 marine species have been reported in the waters surrounding the Galapagos, out of which 18.2% are endemic. These animals include penguins, fur seals, flightless cormorants, sea lions, whales, and hundred of species of fish, among which there are whale shark and schools of hammerhead sharks.

In the past few years fishing in the Galapagos has boomed. Fishermen come with lines and nets hunting for tuna. Divers seek lobsters and sea cucumbers. During the 1990's fishing for sea cucumber to supply the Asian market greatly depleted that resource. Another lucrative and controversial practice is fishing for shark fins. These fishermen hunt the sharks merely for their fins, leaving the rest of the animal. This depletes the area of this important predator and the attraction of divers.

In 1992 a management plan was created for the Galapagos Marine Reserve, but due to lack of organization and involvement it went basically ignored. In 1997 renewed effort have brought about dramatic changes to the preserving the marine environment. All of the local sectors (fishing, tourism and conservation) have been brought together to negotiate protecting these resources. Finally in 1998 The Galapagos Marine Reserve was created. Designed to protect the waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands and the resources they contain.   Finally in 2001 UNESCO declared the area a Natural Patrimony of the Humanity, adhering this together international recognitions, such as: Whale Sanctuary, Reserve of the Biosphere and RAMSAR site (for the protection of the wetlands).
 

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