A large ship carrying thousands of sharks was halted in the Galapagos National Park by park rangers and members of the Ecuadorian navy last week. It’s believed that the Chinese vessel — Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 — was involved in illegal fishing, illustrating the difficulty of protecting marine species in even the most heavily protected areas worldwide.

“This is going to be historic. The biggest seizure of sharks in the history of the Galápagos, for sure,” marine ecologist Pelayo Salinas told National Geographic.

Salinas first noticed the vessel while returning from a research mission in the national park. But he was unable to catch up to the ship while in pursuit on a 13-foot Zodiac. He alerted park headquarters, who closed in to find the ship and its illegal haul. Rangers found thousands of sharks in the ship’s hull, including endangered hammerhead sharks, and the ship’s log reported about 300 tons of fish on board. The 20 crew members, who were arrested, could face up to three years in prison.

No fishing is allowed in this portion of the Galapagos National Park — the ship was eventually found about 35 nautical miles east of San Cristobal Island. But because of this area’s abundance of marine life — especially highly sought after sharks — illegal fisherman take the chance and target these waters. It’s difficult for countries to appropriately patrol the waters to fend off illegal fishing, especially in vast marine protected areas.

“Sadly, this is day-to-day business on the ocean,” Salinas told Nat Geo. “There are thousands of these ships roaming the waters. … Resources are limited. The bad guys are every day making more money. Patrolling is expensive, especially for a country that is in economic crisis.”

Ecuador says it remains committed to preventing illegal fishing in its waters.

“We have a zero tolerance policy against crimes against nature,“ said Ecuador’s Minister of Environment Tarsicio Granizo in a statement.

Source: Sport Diver