Workshop develops new roadmap for fisheries transparency in Galápagos

The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) International Secretariat recently attended a workshop co-organised with the Galápagos National Park Directorate (DPNG) and WildAid to improve fisheries transparency in Galápagos National Park. Seventeen participants attended the event, including authorities and technical experts from the DPNG and representatives from NGOs like Conservation International and the Charles Darwin Foundation.

On September 13, 2024, Galápagos hosted the workshop “Improving the Transparency of Fisheries Information in the Galápagos Marine Reserve,” to discuss how to implement the FiTI Standard in Galápagos. The FiTI Standard is an internationally recognised framework that sets clear requirements on what is expected from countries regarding transparency in marine fisheries. Ecuador is a pioneer in Latin America, being the first country in the region to join the FiTI and commit to implement the FiTI Standard.

Workshop participants agreed on a series of actions to improve fisheries transparency, including creating a roadmap to regularly update fisheries data and improving the accessibility of this information for marine management authorities and other key stakeholders. María Auxiliadora Farías, Acting Director of the DPNG emphasized the importance of planning strategies to enhance transparency in fisheries information, which will strengthen governance and better protect marine resources.

Additionally, Nicolás Rovegno, FiTI Regional Coordinator for Latin America, stated, “This workshop has been very useful in identifying improvement opportunities and outlining a roadmap that will gradually increase fisheries transparency in Galápagos, thus helping to manage its marine resources in a more sustainable and participatory way.”

Diana Vinueza, WildAid’s Galapagos Project Manager, highlighted the importance of establishing joint actions with the environmental authority to strengthen the transparency of fishing information in the Galápagos Marine Reserve.

These improvements in transparency will allow both managers and fishers, as well as other stakeholders in the value chain, to access reliable and timely information. This will not only facilitate better decision-making but also contribute to the preservation of one of the most important ecosystems in the world.

This workshop is part of the ‘Por la Pesca’ project, an initiative designed to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Peru and Ecuador. The project is the result of a joint effort between the Walton Family Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WildAid, and several other NGOs. FiTI’s participation in the workshop was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

A version of this article first appeared here on the WildAid website.