Pirates Launch Consistent Attacks off Ecuadorian Coast

One of the principle risks involved in an artisanal fisherman´s life in Ecuador has little to do with the actual fishing practices that he has spent decades repeating day in and day out. It has nothing to do with the rough seas that arrive with the South winds beginning in April, nor the 8 meter wooden/fiberglass boat that takes him to sea each evening to bob in the ocean for at least 12 hours, nor its´ seemingly undersized 75 hp hand-steered motor. It is not even related to pulling hundreds of meters of nylon long-lines for hours on end each night against the current, molding his hands over time into implements that favor bound sausages more than a man´s hands. The most fearsome danger in a small scale fisherman´s life in Ecuador is piracy.

In the last 8 months, in the two fishing villages NAZCA is primarily involved with in Esmeraldas, pirates have robbed over 10 motors and killed 4 fishermen at sea. The piracy is directed towards the theft of the motors which each cost just over $6,000 new. When fishermen resist the attack that takes place in the middle of the night several miles offshore, that is when deaths occur. Pirates carry guns and often have inside information from within fishing fleets about who is fishing where, with whom, and whether or not they are armed. These thefts and robberies are statistics from two small fishing villages that are subject to the same risks as villages and cities that dot the entire Ecuadorian coast. A band of pirates that can steal numerous motors a month can gather an income far superior to anything available to someone of their capacity through legitimate methods. They just have to be ok with shooting and beating other fishermen who engage in the same line of work they used to do, and were likely raised to do within a community of fishermen. Fisherman go offshore in the evenings to set lines at night and return in the morning with 3 men in a boat and 1 75 hp engine. Pirates go offshore in the evenings to look for fishermen, often colliding with them, armed with pistols and rifles, with 5-10 men in a boat and 2 75 hp motors on the same wooden/fiberglass boats. Piracy attacks have also occured on transient sailing vessels and commerical ships in Ecuador. Fishermen are at the greatest risk when fishing closer to shore for Corvina, the cash crop for several of these communities. Attacks are greatly reduced when fishermen begin fishing further offshore for marlin and other fish further offshore.

The armed forces in this area of Ecuador in recent years have been more concerned with drug traffic, but fishing communities are crying out for increased attention and resources to be dedicated to this severe problem. When 3 fishermen were killed from San Francisco del Cabo several months ago, authorities found and arrested one of the pirates. He was taken to Muisne, a larger city nearby, where authorities were carrying him through the town to be jailed. A mob formed, took the man from the marines, soaked him in gasoline, and lit him on fire. That night the fisherman´s hometown through a party and celebrated the vigilante justice. NAZCA has attained grants to complete a radio communication system in the reserve to create communication between fishermen while at sea and their home ports. There currently exists zero. However, we will soon be constructing a tower and installing two base radios and distributing hand held radios to the fleet. They are also being trained in operating hand held gps. There is a complex equation full of variables and conditions that results in such a problem as piracy including things such as income, lack of government resources, law enforcement, apathy, and just bad people. However, it is our hope that increased communication and contact with land while at sea can begin to serve as an aid in the issue. A real comprehensive solution and erradication lies much deeper.

Below are a few photos from Cabo last week, when pirates chased one of the fishing vessels for several miles forcing it to retreat back to port. The town waited overnight for news as to whether or not the pirates had found the rest of the fleet. Thankfully, no one was harmed nor robbed.

Two relevant links: (Both in Spanish)
Reportaje desde Subscretaria de Recursos Pesqueros

Desde El Universo

Cuenca - Canyoning and Climbing

This weekend, some friends and I took a trip to Cuenca to do some canyoning and rock climbing. Unfortunately, there are few pictures of the canyoning because my camera was in a dry bag on my back most of the day. On the drive home, we had great and very rare views of several of the volcanos in Ecuador: Chimborazo, Ilinizas, and Cotopaxo. Given their height, and Ecuador´s relatively small square acerage, these volcanos are viewable on very clear days from nearly any corner of the country, including cities on the coast, hours away.

Este fin de semana, yo fui con unos amigos a Cuenca para hacer canyoning and para escalar. Lastimosamente, son pocas las fotos del canyoning porque la camera estaba en una bolsa seca por la mayoria del dia. Regresando a Quito, tuvimos unos paisajes muy buenos y muy raros de unos de los volcanes del Ecuador: Chimborazo, Ilinizas, y Cotopaxi. Por sus alturas, y el relativamente pequeno tamano de Ecuador, se puede ver los volcanes en un dia muy claro de casi todo el pais, incluyendo las ciudades en la costa que quedan lejos.

gotta eat right.

hay que alimentarse bien.

obligatory road trip rear view mirror shot.
foto obligatoria del viaje del espejo

Chimborazo.

Project PESQAR

It has been several weeks since I became involved with NAZCA and Project PESQAR and my role within the project has begun to define itself. We knew I would be dedicated to the economic questions at hand, but didnt know which would be the first steps. In order for NAZCA and myself to become more familiar with the business of fish in this region of Ecuador, we decided my first efforts would be directed towards a general investigation and examination of the industry in this part of Ecuador and the associated value chain. Thus, Ive spent the last couple of weeks trying to engage local fishermen, traders, market participants in Quito, restaurant managers, and seafood purveyors in order to educate myself on the structure of the chain. This is important to NAZCA because if we want to see the fishing in this reserve become sustainable, this chain will invariably have to undergo some changes. The most lofty and ultimate of our goals is to eventually have the products from this reserve packaged and marketed as a sustainable and artisinal product, identified seperately and likely sold at higher prices than conventional seafood because of increased quality. This is a very similiar process to what has been done with organic, socially responsible coffees and chocolates. In this instance, however, the finca workers are fishermen and the crop being harvested is the fish they take out of the sea. It will not be NAZCA, of course, who executes such a business plan (NAZCA is a marine research group only); however, it will be NAZCA who lays the groundwork for the infrastructural changes and enhanced fishing practices. They will also be responsible for the scientific and technical research associated with claiming an area as protected, which will be a very valuable component for anyone who does wish to purchase fish from the reserve as described above. There is already interest on behalf of several seafood companies who are interested in acheiving such a socially and environmentally responsable business feat. However, there is much to be done in the legitimization of the reserve and the practices within before it makes sense for any one to attempt such an entry. To provide a bit of a summary about this value chain as its understood today: Fishermen return from 1 to 2 days at sea in a 20+ ft plus boat often photographed by the author of Ecuadorado, and sell their catch on the beach to a local trader. In the reserve Corvina, Dorado, Pargo (snapper), Bonito, Picudo (marlin), and langosta (lobster) are some of the most important products. The trader then takes the fish either to the City Port of Esmeraldas, or sells it to someone in a nearby town who will take it directly to Quito. The fish sold to Esmeraldas is determined to be exported or consumed nationally and then sold once again accordingly. Once the fish arrives in Quito or a different destination it is then sold to a market or a distributor who will sell it to restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. It is easy to note that intermediate steps that add no value to the chain are in abundance and in need of being terminated from this process. For example, in this process the price of Dorado and Corvina can be as much as 2 dollars/lb. and 3 dollars/lb. higher in Quito respectively. Each of these steps does not raise the price on its journey to Quito, rather they subtract money from the initial end of the chain. The price in Quito is more dependent on what people are willing to pay and the supply, not how much it cost to get there. So, the more people involved, the less money on the beach. Below are some shots from around the communities in the reserve.

Hace unas semanas que empeze mi trabajo con NAZCA y Proyecto PESQAR y mi enfoque personal ha empezado aclararse un poco. Sabiamos que yo iba trabajar en la parte de la economia y desarrollo para el proyecto, pero no sabiamos cuales iban a ser los primeros pasos. Para educarme yo mismo y a NAZCA tambien, decidimos que debo hacer una investigacion general de lo que es el negocio de pesca en esta zona y la cadena de valor que tiene. Entonces, por las ultimas semanas he estado hablando con pescadores, comerciantes, gente del mercado, exportadores, restaurantes, y supermercados para aprender como esta estructurado el camino del pescado del mar hasta el plato. Esto es importante para NAZCA porque si nosotros queremos ver la pesca de la reserva como sustentable y vendido asi, seguro tendra que cambiar la cadena de venderlo. Nuestro meta ultimo y alto es que los productos de la reserva sean promocionados y vendidos como un producto artesenal y sostenible, identificado aparte del pescado convencional y con un precio mas alto por un aumento en la calidad. Este proceso es muy parecido a como ha cambiado el cafe organico y los chocolates artesenales. Pero, los trabajadores de la finca son los pescadores, y la planta cosechada es el pescado que sacan del mar. Porsupuesto, no sera NAZCA el que hace el negocio que cumplira algo asi sino es solo un instituto de investigaciones marinos. Pero, si sera NAZCA el responsable para hacer las bases para cambiar la infraestructura y maneras de pescar. Y tambien sera NAZCA el que haga las investigaciones tecnicas que cualquier comprador de pescado de la reserva necesite para averiguar que el producto es lo que reclama ser. Ya hay unas empresas de pescados que tienen interes en la reserva, pero falta mucho para que tenga sentido una entrada asi. Para tener un ejemplo de la cadena: Los pescadores vuelven de 1 o 2 dias en el mar en una fibra de 8-9 metros y venden el pescado en la playa a un comerciante. Ese comerciante lo lleva a Esmeraldas u otro pueblo a otro comerciante. Si va a Esmeraldas deciden si es para exportar o consumo nacional. Despues el otro comerciante o los de Esmeraldas lo llevan a Quito para venderlo a un mercado, o distribuIdor que lo vende a un resaurante, hotel, o supermercado. No es tan dificil ver que hay unos pasos en la cadena que no añaden nada de valor deberian estar sacados, o fuera. Cada persona que esta involucradA esta sacando lo suyo. El precio en Quito es un resultado de la demanda alli y la cantidad que hay, nO importa cual sea el costo para llegar alli. Entonces, si hay mas gente involucrada, el precio no subira en el mercado, pero bajara en la playa. Mientras mas gente haya en la cadena, menos plata en la playa. Aqui abajo tengo unas fotos de las comunidades de a reserva.

The album drops summer 2k10.