Colombia | In the Pacific, a catamaran at the bedside of the kingdom of sharks

Like a small white dot at the foot of the imposing rockery, in the middle of the immensity of the Pacific, a catamaran patrols the waters of Malpelo.

A refuge for sharks, this isolated rocky island, almost 500 km west of the Colombian coast, is home to many marine species threatened in the Pacific.

The catamaran, with environmental activists on board, fights against illegal fishing boats which poach and massacre sharks inside this natural marine park.

Its presence near the immense uninhabited rock, territory of Colombia, has resulted in a reduction in the devastation committed by illegal fishermen in this protected area of ​​one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, which hosts the COP16 from October 21 in the city of Cali.

Since 2018, these shark protectors have been confronting ships from Southeast Asia and countries neighboring Colombia. On board their catamaran Silkythey try to detect suspicious boats, force them to leave by sailing on board and calling the Colombian navy. These activists like no other also dive to cut fishing nets and free animals caught in hooks.

365 days

“We try as much as possible to remove the fishing gear, to free the trapped species, that’s our main mission,” explains Dario Ortiz, 53, one of the catamaran captains.

A former artisanal fisherman turned environmental activist, Mr. Ortiz sailed on board for 45 days, until the crew changed.

“I already feel like I belong to this piece of ocean,” he confides to AFP below the cliffs of Malpelo. The AFP team’s journey to the island required more than 20 hours of navigation on a Colombian navy ship.

The initiative is led by Erika Lopez, an experienced diver, outraged by the indiscriminate hunting of sharks carried out in this national park where fishing is in theory prohibited, the largest protected area in the Eastern Pacific with more than 857,000 hectares, and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

According to the “Biodiversity Conservation Colombia” foundation, M^me Lopez leads with the sponsorship of an Australian philanthropist, the Guardians of the Silky have saved 508 animals since 2018. They have also scared away 302 boats and recovered more than 70,000 meters of fishing rope.

Since last December, the sailors of the Silky say they have not intercepted any fishing boats near Malpelo. The ship “practically has to contain this threat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” explains M.^me Lopez, 51 years old.

“This project is truly a success to the extent that fishermen do not return to the protected area to fish […] The fewer fishermen we see, the more success we have in the area,” she rejoices.

Colombia does not keep records of shark poaching victims. Between 2012 and 2022, however, authorities seized more than 334 tonnes of fish caught illegally in their habitat, according to the Ministry of the Environment.

A very coveted place

The waters of Malpelo, a key point on their migratory route to rest and feed, are teeming with hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and other threatened or vulnerable species.

The island is in fact the highest point of an underwater mountain range, a volcanic cordillera called the Malpelo Ridge stretching for almost 300 km and whose bases are at a depth of up to 4000 meters.

The island itself, which resembles a large stone, is only 3.5 km in size, and is home to endemic species of birds, crabs and reptiles. It can only be accessed by a suspended wooden ladder.

The waters of Malpelo are a must for shark lovers and one of the most beautiful diving sites in the world: it is here that famous images of huge schools of hammerhead sharks were filmed. The place is also known to be particularly dangerous for divers, due to the strong underwater currents.

A few privileged tourists pay a fortune to come and dive there from their boats, because they cannot land on the island.

Its remoteness and wealth “make it a highly coveted place for industrial fishing, both national and international. Fishermen from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua are looking for all these species that we have in the region,” explains Hector Montaño, National Parks employee and member of the crew of the Silky.

Offshore and outside the Malpelo area, the Colombian navy ship “Siete de Agosto” arrested three Ecuadorian fishermen, captured aboard their small boat with five decapitated sharks.

“The Colombian Pacific is very rich and sought-after,” observes Admiral Rafael Aranguren. With “our ships, we can reach this part of the territory and carry out checks so that they (illegal fishermen) do not illegally exploit these riches and do not further damage an environment which must be preserved over time”, comments to the AFP the commander of the navy in the Pacific.

According to the navy, nearly 30 people have been arrested for illegal fishing in Colombia this year. At the beginning of 2024, the government authorized artisanal fishermen to consume shark meat if it unintentionally falls into their nets. This decision was rejected by environmentalists, who see it as an incitement to consumption and shark hunting.

M^me Lopez dreams of having an ocean fleet of ships dedicated to conservation and science. THE Silky should “be taken as a reference to generate new alliances and new control strategies” of illegal fishing which “affects us all and ravages all the world’s oceans”.