By Liliana Rivas

• The fishermen of this community, located on the northeast coast of Ecuador, have set themselves a goal: to protect the Puerto Cabuyal-Punta San Clemente Marine Reserve, a vital habitat for biodiversity and for their own survival.
• Together with scientists and non-governmental organizations, fishermen have identified the importance of having this reserve, which is a habitat for various species of sharks.
• The marine diversity of the area and artisanal fishing are at risk due to industrial fishing.

It is two in the morning and in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the province of Manabí, Ecuador, Jimmy Itriago, a fisherman descended from the pre-Columbian cultures Jama-Coaque and Manteña, sails from his ancestral commune towards the hammerhead shark observation points in the Puerto Cabuyal Marine Reserve and Punta de San Clemente. The trip takes him approximately one hour.

The waves of the rough sea crash against the deck of his boat and the wind makes it rock. This time, the fisherman does not go with his nets. Amidst the crossing of sea currents, his job is to locate hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) and write down each one of the specimens he finds on his way. “You have to be lucky to see them,” says Itriago. For three years, he has been doing this voluntary work five days a week because, he says, it is necessary to know what is being lost in order to protect it.

Jimmy Itriago lives in Puerto Cabuyal, a coastal community of indigenous descent with approximately 150 inhabitants, located on the northwest coast of Ecuador, in the province of Manabí. The community is within the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena corridor, a region recognized by scientists and non-governmental organizations for its high biodiversity. For this reason, Puerto Cabuyal has been named a “Territory of Life” by the TICCA Consortium , an international non-profit association dedicated to supporting indigenous peoples and local communities that govern and conserve their lands, waters and territories.

In 2019, Jimmy Itriago and other fishermen from his commune participated as support in the research carried out within the framework of the “Baby Shark” project, which focused on the search for hammerhead sharks along the coastal profile. During the development of the research, they discovered that other species are also found in the area, from tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) and sea turtles (Chelonioidea) to humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and whale sharks (Rhincodon typus).

It was the community members and fishermen of Puerto Cabuyal, as well as those from the Canoa, Bahía de Caráquez and San Vicente sectors, who noticed the richness and diversity that needed to be protected. “The protection of emblematic species and the sustainable management of artisanal fishing became priorities. Thus, the initiative to create a new protected area was born, led by the fishermen of Puerto Cabuyal themselves,” explains Kevin Reyes, a marine biologist, son of a fisherman, and former park ranger of the Puerto Cabuyal and Punta de San Clemente Marine Reserve in Ecuador.

For Reyes, this protected area is much more than a natural space to conserve, it is also a place to educate the community about the importance of biodiversity. “Biodiversity is the indicator of healthy seabeds,” he says in an interview with Mongabay Latam. “This means that there is a great variety of species, which in turn means that there are fishing resources for the area.”

The initiative to create the reserve was supported by organizations such as Ocean Blue Tree, Migramar (a network of scientists dedicated to the research and conservation of migratory marine species in the Pacific region), Conservation International Ecuador and the Ministry of Environment.

The creation of a marine reserve

The collection and systematization of data that began in 2019 laid the groundwork for establishing the Puerto Cabuyal-Punta San Clemente Marine Reserve in 2021. This reserve covers 130,427 hectares, from Punta Ballena, in the Jama canton, to Punta San Clemente, in the Sucre canton. Its objective is to protect the marine ecosystems of the area, threatened by industrial fishing, and to guarantee food security for the community.

Researchers from Migramar, artisanal fishermen from Puerto Cabuyal, Canoa sector, fishermen from the city of Bahía de Caráquez and San Vicente, with the support of the Ocean Blue Tree Foundation and Conservation International Ecuador, documented the great biodiversity that exists in the area and determined that the reserve is a breeding habitat for hammerhead sharks, in addition to having a high ecological value for other species.

Today, the community is collaborating with Ocean Blue Tree on species monitoring and zoning. They also work at landing sites to raise awareness about bycatch; their focus is on educating fishing villages to reduce the amount of fishing and ensure sustainability.

“When the shark falls alive into our nets, we loosen them. We are trying to protect the shark reserve, we have to take care of the species because they are dying out,” says Jimmy Itriago while showing his shark record sheet.

Felipe Gangotena, born in Quito but a resident of the community for 20 years and who currently supports the Puerto Cabuyal community school, says that the port’s beach is one of the few in Ecuador that has not yet been significantly intervened. “Here, the lifestyle of the people has been characterized by their respectful coexistence with nature. This vocation for sustainable use and conservation has always been present in the community, not only on the beach or the sea but also in its forests,” he says.

Threats to the reserve

Although the Puerto Cabuyal and Punta de San Clemente Marine Reserve project has approximately five researchers and the technical support of some organizations and government agencies, it still has few resources. According to Kevin Reyes, who worked for a couple of years in the area, the reserve should have a suitable staff of at least 30 park rangers, especially because “industrial fishing is a major problem along the entire coastal profile of Ecuador,” he says.

“There is a lot of competition and threats, we have Ecuadorian boats from Manta and Guayaquil, in addition to the shrimp boats. They are boats from here in the area, there is a lot of money and power in the sea,” says Jimmy Itriago.

Ecuador’s Fishing Law establishes that the waters located from the lowest tides to eight nautical miles correspond to the artisanal sector, while from eight miles outward correspond to the industrial sector. Despite the controversies and discussions surrounding this issue, illegal and industrial fishing remains one of the main threats in the region. “The creation of this protected zone also involves the creation of a threat map to assist the entities in charge of surveillance, such as the Ecuadorian Navy and the National Fisheries Institute,” explains Reyes.

For María Solorzano, a resident of Puerto Cabuyal, the protection of her food has always been the North: “When there is a ban here, it is respected,” she explains. “The big boats are fighting; they say they want to enter or be near the marine reserve. But we are not going to let them, we are not going to allow that to happen because that is our food. All small fish reproduce within the miles. That would alter the food chain. And for the last four years or so, artisanal fishing has been tough,” she says.

Since 2007, Ecuador has banned shark fishing, allowing only incidental fishing, which is characterized by having diffuse limits imposed by the Ecuadorian authorities. And an example of this is what Mongabay Latam published in January 2024, about the seizure of almost a ton of Ecuadorian shark fins in Chiclayo, Peru.

In 2023, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) warned of a possible suspension of trade in sharks and rays from Ecuador if sustainability in the shark trade was not guaranteed. This was not fulfilled and as a result, the country was sanctioned by Cites as of March 11, 2024. One of the reasons is that there is no limit or maximum percentage that can be considered incidental fishing in the country. Thus, due to this loophole, thousands of sharks continued to be caught and traded. As a result of this, Ecuador is now on the list of countries that cannot trade any of the 12 species of sharks and rays protected by Cites.

A reserve to protect biodiversity and artisanal fishing

To protect the reserve’s biodiversity, Cristian Soledispa, an ecotourism engineer with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management and current head of the Puerto Cabuyal and Punta San Clemente Marine Reserve, is working with local communities to create a sustainable management plan that will allow them to gain more support. This includes training on how to extract resources sustainably and on the importance of protecting protected species. In addition to promoting the release of live sharks, the project teaches techniques and methods of resuscitation and release.

“Frequently, fishermen tell us that the sharks they capture come out dying and they cannot release them. For this reason, we have begun to instruct them in techniques to revive the sharks and be able to release them, always focusing on the importance of conserving these species,” explains the park ranger on Isla Corazón and Fragatas. Instead of imposing prohibitions, it is essential for the project that artisanal fishermen understand the importance of defending the marine reserve.

“Although certain areas, such as feeding or reproduction zones, are restricted, more than 80% of the Protected Area remains available for fishing, as long as conservation measures are respected and the species to be captured are carefully selected and how to do so to guarantee their continuity over time,” he continues.

Octavio Valencia, who was born and raised on the coast more than 60 years ago and was president of the Puerto Cabuyal commune for almost 11 years, says that traditional fishing is at a breaking point. This crisis, according to Valencia, is due to several factors, including large shrimp companies, insecurity and the effects of climate change.

“Before, we had lobsters, shrimp, snapper and all kinds of fish. But now, even if I bring different nets and hooks, they are worthless. Shrimp, for example, used to be sold for five or six dollars, but now they are only sold for one and a half dollars. The economy is very unstable and so is security,” he says.

For about four years, small-scale fishing has been scarce for fishermen. They say that they used to be able to catch 20 to 40 pounds in a day, but today a trip can mean only five pounds. “To guarantee the future of small-scale fishing, we also have to protect our achievements, such as the reserve,” says Jimmy Itriago.

“We know that it is very difficult to try to defend our food from all these problems, but we still believe in good actions by people,” he says hopefully.

Despite all the difficulties, the community of Puerto Cabuyal is moving forward with the marine reserve. Their current goal is to place at least ten satellite tags on juvenile sharks to confirm with data the visits of specimens that travel from the Galapagos. In addition, they hope to renew the agreements with the collaborating NGOs that support them financially and with personnel.

The struggle of the commune

For Kevin Reyes, a former park ranger in the area, one of the goals is to continue identifying what types of species are found in this sector, given the great diversity that includes not only sharks but also other migratory species such as rays, humpback whales and, especially, sea turtles. To do so, one of his objectives is to have a boat dedicated solely to control and monitoring work in the marine reserve.

“We have established new relationships with the Harbor Master’s Office to improve marine control, that is, to be able to detect all threats in the area, including illegal fishing and the advance of industrial fishing in the sector,” says Reyes.

Felipe Gangotena, one of the main environmental activists in Puerto Cabuyal, points out that raising awareness about the ecological value of the beach is important and to this end they have developed workshops and talks at the community school. Since 2019, they have actively participated in the Area of ​​Conservation and Sustainable Use (ACUS) of San Vicente, an initiative that promotes the sustainable management of natural resources and the conservation of biodiversity.

“Many coastal areas around the world are under pressure from the expansion of the shrimp industry, urban growth, and plastic pollution. In Puerto Cabuyal we are also experiencing this pressure. That is why we have organized events to educate the community about the importance of protecting our ecosystems,” he says.

One of the main objectives of the community is to strengthen the regulation and community control of its territory and the marine reserve by encouraging new generations. To this end, Gangotena has been carrying out a turtle nesting project for over a decade, which has grown over the years. “In 2019, we already had teachers from the school as volunteers and we were able to make a systematic record. Today, the children form brigades with the youngest and go out to see where the little sea turtles are, they watch them sometimes day and night and take care of their birth,” he says.

In addition to these activities, the youngsters also developed a plan to clean up the beach. “One of Jimmy Itriago’s sons is defining trails in the port’s forests. He wants to encourage ecotourism and generate value for our forests,” he continues.

For the Puerto Cabuyal community, the protection of ecosystems not only represents an incalculable environmental value according to their beliefs, but also the only resources that guarantee their survival. “We must be patient in our work. Be ready for good and bad, in the sea or on land. We need to swim and plant to continue surviving. But what are we left with if they destroy everything, including ourselves?” says María Solorzano.

*This report was originally published in Mongabay Latam.