The Enchanted Isles: What do the Galapagos Islands Look Like Today?

The Galapagos Islands are probably one of the most famous archipelagos on Earth as their unique and abundant wildlife inspired Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. Today, the islands continue to be a living laboratory packed full of unusual species and varied ecosystems which scientists and visitors alike eagerly discover. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these islands so special but also at the modern human threats which are beginning to loom over these natural havens.

The Galapagos Islands rise out of the ocean 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, lying in the spot where three major ocean currents meet. This specific location receives cool nutrient rich waters from the south, a cold current from the west and warm waters from the north which allows flora and fauna from all these different environments to merge in the middle of the ocean on the Galapagos. In fact, 20% of the marine life found here is found nowhere else in the world, with the islands claiming the title for some of the most northerly living penguins and the world’s only marine iguana. The islands themselves were named after the iconic giant tortoise which lives there, with ‘Insulae de los Galopegos’ meaning the ‘islands of the turtles’ whilst many affectionately call them the Enchanted Islands. These distant islands have some of the greatest diversity in the world, with hammerhead sharks, tuna, fur seals and multiple seabirds living amongst the varied ecosystems including coral reefs, mangroves, sandy bays, rocky beaches and deep underwater mountains and plateaus. Due to all this incredible diversity, the islands have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status whilst its waters are protected by the second largest marine reserve in the world.

Amongst some of these unique marine species is the flightless cormorant. This is a great example of evolution in action as, over the years, the cormorant adapted to the islands’ lack of predators as their wings slowly shrunk until they were no longer useful for flying. Instead, these oceangoing birds evolved to develop more valuable powerful legs which allowed them to be excellent swimmers as they hunt down tasty morsels of octopus and eels. Another distinctive species living on the rocky shores of the islands is the marine iguana which descended from its land-based counterparts around 10 million years ago. It is thought that a few of their ancestors drifted to the Galapagos from the mainland on a small raft made of loose vegetation and then set about colonising the island. Whilst animals taking on dramatic ocean voyages on rafts sounds a little unrealistic, a similar phenomenon was witnessed in the 1990s in the Caribbean during a particularly intense hurricane season. Blown down branches and other pieces of debris clumped together near the shoreline and several lizards jumped on, unaware that the raft was about to set sail for a few days in the heavy waves and arrive on a completely different island. The Galapagos marine iguana lives on rocks by the ocean, snacking on sea algae but hunting for their main meal under the waves. However, these creatures can only hunt underwater in the cold for a limited amount of time before their blood flow dramatically reduces and they become lethargic, struggling to make it back to shore, so they have to time their swims perfectly to ensure they make it back to the hot rocks to sunbathe several times a day.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, there are several threats facing the creatures on these Enchanted Islands. Firstly, the islands lie in a region of Earth which suffers from the effects of El Nino weather events. El Nino occurs every several years and is a series of climatic changes which sees a reversal of wind patterns over the Pacific Ocean. For the Galapagos Islands, the effects include unusually warm and nutrient poor waters which means less food is available for its inhabitants. For example, the population of small penguins which are dotted around the islands have been closely monitored for decades but in the extreme El Nino years of 1982 and 1983, the size of the population dropped by a dramatic 77% as they struggled to find enough fish. Similarly, the sea algae marine iguanas feed on almost all but disappeared at this time which, again, meant the population was put at risk. With climate change thought to increase the intensity and frequency of El Nino events, the future of some of these incredible species is looking increasingly uncertain.

Less than a hundred years ago, the Galapagos Islands managed to remain quiet and ruled over by animals yet, recently, thousands of visitors have flocked to their shores to witness some of Earth’s most beautiful species. Now over 200,000 tourists journey to the islands each year but in the process, often damage some of the wildlife they have come to see. Although many sustainable practices are in place, the sheer number of people means that we humans cannot help but disturb the animals and their natural way of a life as boats surround feeding whale sharks and cameras inch closer towards lounging fur seals. In fact, simply the noise of boats can be a large disturbance to species such as whales and dolphins which communicate with each other via clicks and calls noises which are drowned out by the hum of diesel engines. Tourism also brings with it an increasing amount of rubbish which these tiny islands are struggling to process, increasing the risk that this waste leaks out into the environment where it can wreak havoc. Finally, in order to house 200,000 visitors a year, areas of unique vegetation have been cleared to make room for roads, restaurants and rest houses whilst other swathes of land have been converted to agriculture in order to feed demand. Tourism is actually linked to another great threat to the islands: invasive species. The Galapagos have spent millions of years being isolated from the rest of the world, meaning the species that live there have adapted to the easy life of living without predators, competitors or a whole host of diseases. Yet tourist boats or even the soles of visitors’ shoes can bring in alien invaders in the form of mussels, algae and seed spores which have the potential to outcompete some of the islands’ extraordinary species. In the ocean, Japanese kelp and European green crabs are some of the species already thought to have arrived undercover and so the government are now putting measures in place to protect native species. This includes in-depth searches of boats at the main ports and dive teams which regularly survey the waters of the harbours.

The final threat is potentially the largest: fishing. Whilst the ocean surrounding the islands is a protected area, 200 miles outside of this border is open to fishing for nationals, however due to the demand from tourists, fishermen are becoming more and more competitive about the size of their haul which is leading to some overexploitation of certain species such as lobsters. More worryingly however, is the activity going on right on the border between this national’s only zone and the entrance to the high sea. In July and August this year, 200 Chinese fishing vessels have been spotted moving right along this invisible border in the ocean, with their fleet comprised of huge fishing vessels as well as enormous refrigeration ships which are designed to carry large hauls of fish for weeks at a time, ensuring it is still fresh for sale when they arrive back on dry land. Whilst fishing vessels are not uncommon in this area, the size of this fleet is unusual whilst many of the ships floating here have records of conducting illegal fishing. Back in 2017, one ship strayed into the marine protected area and was intercepted only to find that 300 tonnes of scalloped hammerhead sharks were stored on board ready for sale, a devastating loss for our oceans. One scientist is concerned the same illegal fishing is taking place as we speak. He had been tracking a whale shark named Hope for almost a year when suddenly the satellite transmission from her tag disappeared, not a totally uncommon incident. However, in the last 30 minutes tracked on her tag, Hope sped up from her swimming speed of one knot per hour to seven knots, or the speed of a fishing vessel. When satellites managed to trace her location later on, she had managed to move over one thousand miles west of the islands, leaving him almost certain that she had been caught by fishers. The position of the current Chinese vessels is further worrying as they are sitting right on top of an important migration route used by whales and sharks, many of which are endangered species.

Many local fishermen have seen this as unfair as in order to fish themselves, they must take a biologist on board with them to check their haul and ensure no sharks or endangered species are caught, yet who regulates foreign ships on the border of the high seas? China has recently announced that from September, they will allow Ecuador to supervise their fishing vessels to ensure no illegal fishing takes place but whether this developing nation has the resources to patrol this vast area is the next hurdle. At present, Ecuador are looking to build a joint marine protected area with their neighbours Costa Rica and Colombia to help pool resources and seal off areas of ocean which are important to biodiversity. This includes the Cocos Ridge, an underwater mountain range which connects the Galapagos Islands to the mainland and in total, the proposed reserve will close off 200,000 square miles of beautiful ocean. Whilst the Galapagos reserve was revolutionary when it was first instated, it has recently needed updating to meet modern standards which also seek to protect busy animal migration routes. With many promising plans underway, be sure to keep an eye on the Galapagos over the next few years to keep up to date with the establishment of marine reserves, the implementation of eco-tourism standards and potential new legislation against fishing in the surrounding high seas. If you feel progress is not being made fast enough, why not use your voice to join the others around the world protesting for safer oceans for our marine creatures.