Last week, the National Judicial Authority of Ecuador invited the conservation sector of Galapagos to attend a meeting to analyze the need to create a specialized judicial system in Galapagos for environmental matters. As one of its members and the initiator of the judicial reform in Galapagos, Sea Shepherd's legal advisor attended the meeting held in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.

The main subject of this meeting was to discuss the creation of an environmental judiciary in Galapagos. For Sea Shepherd, it was an important opportunity to explain the need to have a specialized judge ruling over environmental cases being prosecuted in the Galapagos Islands.

Since 2010, Sea Shepherd Galapagos has been advocating for the creation of the first-in-the-world judiciary specializing in nature rights. In time, this initiative has received the support of many other conservation activists. This idea is strongly supported by the Constitution of Ecuador (the first-in-the-world recognizing rights to nature) and also by a new law that calls for the actual establishment of such specialized judiciaries ¨at any time and in compliance with the constitutional mandate."

After years of work in the Galapagos Islands, Sea Shepherd has witnessed just how challenging law enforcement can be in areas such as the Galapagos Marine Reserve. We believe that a specialized judiciary will be a huge improvement when it comes to addressing such challenges. We believe that the local judicial system not only could be, but also should be, an entity that can really make the difference in effectively enforcing marine environmental law.

For this reason Sea Shepherd congratulates the National Judicial Authority for having made such an important step towards addressing environmental issues, not only in Galapagos, but also in other regions of the country.

If you had bookings for this ship, I recommend you contact your agent ASAP to ensure alternative plans are made.

Though CNH Tours has no direct information yet, it is likely that the ship will be out of service for a short while.   If you had booked a cruise on the Beagle over the next 2 or 3 weeks, please contact your agent as soon as possible for more details.

As is the case for many ships in the Galapagos, the Beagle's masts were not part of the original ship design, but were added to give it a "prettier silhouette".   They are purely decorative - and not used for sailing.   Very few ships in Galapagos ever raise any sails.   Winds are typically light in Galapagos (Charles Darwin spent nearly half of his 5 weeks in Galapagos on board the original Beagle, trying to sail between islands), and itineraries cannot accommodate the slower and unreliable wind powered ships.

Vazquez drifted on the Panamanian current, which flows from Central America southwards, looping towards the Galapagos islands.   It's likely that his path was even longer than the 800 miles.   This same current is also responsible for bringing over marine species to the islands - many fish and marine invertebrates are common to both Galapagos and the west coast of Central America.

Dozens of people welcomed Adrian Vasquez, 18, in Panama City's airport on Tuesday.

The teenager and two friends left on a fishing trip on February 24 and were heading back to Rio Hato when the boat's motor failed.

Vasquez indicated that his friends died within three weeks. He was rescued on Friday by fishermen who found his boat off the Galapagos Islands.

This brings back memories of 1953, when Thor Hyerdhal, the famous Norewegian explorer (known for his Kon-Tiki Polynesian reed ship that he sailed in the Pacific in 1947) visited Galapagos looking for evidence of Polynesian settlements.   The locals on Floreana island decided to play a trick on him.   They had carved a face in a volcanic rock before hand, and proceeded to show it to him as evidence that the Polynesians had been to the island.  It seems he was bright enough to realize that it was a fake, and doesn't refer to it in the report of his expedition.

The sculpture has become part of local lore - if you're itinerary takes you to Floreana, ask your guide to take you to the Easter Island head scultpure!

It turns out that this very rarely visited snorkeling spot is very rich in underwater life.   Last month (Feb 2012), during their scheduled stop here, CNH Tours guests had the extremely rare pleasure of swimming with a pod of false killer whales.   "The guide told us we were very lucky - it was only the 2^nd time in guiding career that he had ever seen this species".   Norm Vexler, an underwater photographer from Amherst, Massachusetts, did not hesitate and he jumped into the sea to take some wonderful shots, a sample which is presented with this story.   For more of Norm's pictures, see:  www.faroutphotos.com

Park service staff collaborated with bags, gloves, a vehicle and 15 rangers, who were part of several cleaning crews distributed by the city during the 5 hour effort that took place in the main town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

According to Wikipedia, Dengue fever is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles.  Most people with dengue recover without any ongoing problems.

Typically, the risk of contracting Dengue fever is much higher in areas where other people already have it, because the mosquito can more likely transmit the virus as it bites more than one person in the course of its life cycle.   There is very little, if none at all, of contracting Dengue fever on uninhabited islands in Galapagos.   However, if you will be spending time in the town, the best strategy to reduce the risk is the use of long sleeve shirts and long pants and socks, along with the application of mosquito repellent.

During a recent 12-day trip to Darwin and Wolf Islands in the north of the archipelago (only visited by dedicated scuba diving cruises - no land visits are possible here), technicians of the Galapagos National Park Service, with support from scientists of the Charles Darwin Foundation and the University of California Davis, managed to capture and mark eleven sharks of different species, as part of a shark monitoring program.  The idea is to understand the movement patterns of sharks within and outside the protected area.

To tag the shark, one must first capture it, put it on a stretcher where it is secured and taken onto the research vessel.  Once there, it is measured and satellite tags are fixed to the dorsal fin. During this process, seawater is supplied to the shark through a hose that runs it over their gills.

Tags have so far been placed in 5 silky sharks, 2 hammerhead sharks, 2 Galapagos sharks, and 2 black tip sharks.   The tags include a small antenna - so when the shark's dorsal fin pokes out of the water (as it does when they are swimming at the surface), the device sends a satellite signal which is then relayed back to the Park's monitoring.  Earlier such studies have demonstrated that some sharks move between Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and Galapagos.

CNH Tours notes that this kind of information helps develop effective shark conservation policies.  For example, if the scientists discover that the sharks migrate regularly to other places, it will be clear that their long term conservation will require cooperation with the fisheries management authorities in these places as well.

The large schools of hammerhead sharks are one of diving wonders of Galapagos - divers come from around the world to witness this phenomenon.   But sharks have been aggressively fished over the past several years, mostly to feed the growing Chinese market for "shark fin soup".    Even in the Galapagos marine reserves, sharks are often illegally fished for their fins and all efforts must be made to stop this practice, both by controlling illegal fishing, and by encouraging the main consumers of shark fins that the practice is not sustainable.

The number of visitors to Galapagos has been increasing rapidly over the past 20 years.   Soon, over 200,000 visitors a year will be arriving.    While the cruise ship visit is the classic way to see the islands, due to strict limits on the total number of ships and berths allowed to sail in the islands (thus helping conserve the islands and the visitor experience), more and more people are visiting Galapagos by land, on island hopping trips.

To respond to the growing demand for land based services (hotels, restaurants, taxis, day tripping boats etc.) local entrepreneurs have been getting into the tourism business in a large way.  Unfortunately, they've often done so outside of the law or by ignoring regulations.  As a result, today in Galapagos, those that have invested in ensuring their business respects regulations and safety standards are at times competing with those that haven't.   And those that haven't are undermining good business practices.

Though the authorities are trying to clamp down on these uncertified businesses, it's always a bit of a cat and mouse game.   In an effort to help discerning visitors (like you) choose only authorized service providers, the Ministry of Tourism has recently launched its "OK Galapagos!" campaing.

OK Galapagos is a Ministry of Tourism (Ecuador) public awareness campaign designed to encourage both visitors and members of the national and international tourism communities to support legal service providers in Galapagos.  Initiated in September 2011, this campaign aims to strengthen and give recognition to members of the formal tourist service sector in Galapagos versus informal (non-legalized) service providers.

In 2012, visitors to Galapagos can expect to encounter information about the campaign on their flight from the continent as well as in the air terminals of Galapagos.  Educational material will be presented in Spanish, English, French and German (subtitles only) with the objective of raising awareness among passengers and/or potential visitors to use, prefer and search for legal or formal service operators during their stay in the islands.

OK Galapagos is good for everyone.

The Ministry of Tourism encourages members of the national and international tourism communities to ensure that they have full knowledge of whom they are hiring.  Placing precedence on working with legal service providers in Galapagos is encouraged by the government for safety.  Professionals who have any questions or concerns about OK Galapagos are encouraged to contact:  okgalapagos@turismo.gob.ec

When considering services in Galapagos, look for the OK Galapagos logo.  At present, 60% of legal service providers have been provided with the OK Galapagos sticker to display in a prominent place in their establishment.  Be sure to ask your service provider if they are a recognized by OK Galapagos.

For more information about the campaign and a complete list of Certified Touristic Service Providers in Galapagos, please see:  http://www.emediasys.com/okgalapagos/

With your support, OK Galapagos will optimize tourism in the region as well as help ensure a pleasant, memorable experience for all visitors to Galapagos.