Machalilla National Park, declared in 1979 is unfortunately poorly regulated. The current regulation states that a shark can be kept by fishermen on two conditions:

1.      1. Only if it is caught as bycatch

2.    2. The whole shark must be landed on the boat

Unfortunately, many fishermen target these sharks under the disguise of bycatch. We saw the horrible fishing industry firsthand On Saturday morning, we saw firsthand fishermen cutting off the front dorsal and pelvic fins of the sharks. On the beach, our guide Juan Manuel navigated his way easily through the stands of chopping boards, ice crates, and backing trucks. Fishermen were yelling and chopping, chopping and throwing, carelessly stepping over 4 ft long shark on the beach as if it were another log or piece of trash. Pelicans hung around the shore, demanding scraps from the fishermen. 

 A family affair

The fishing community really is a family affair: young boys were carrying crates on the boats and a young girl was helping to chop fish with her mother. Small shops selling breakfast to feed the fishermen and families lined the beach.

            It was reassuring though to see two women sampling the sizes of the sharks that were lined on the chopping tables. Maybe there are doing conservation studies. The new provision stating that the whole shark must be landed is a good start to protecting the animals, but it is still not enough.   

Some things I learned from Juan Manuel concerning how the sharks are used:

-        -- Fins: Used for shark fin soup, China is a big importer. In recent decades this has been a problem because shark fin soup used to be a delicacy to be only eaten during marriages to show a family’s wealth. But now, people are demanding the soup at all times of the year. And this isn’t only restricted to China—other countries and states, like California, are even selling the soup.

-        --- Meat: Shark meat is apparently not as “delicious” as other types of fish and therefore usually call for less money. Sellers have been known to resell shark meat as other types, especially in the highlands and other countries, to those who don’t know the difference in order to earn more money.

-        -- Fashion products

Hopefully in the future, Ecuador can follow through and enforce its laws.