"Chinese Waste Pollutes Galápagos Islands" 30 March 2022

The Chinese fleet that periodically threatens the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador goes beyond engaging in predatory fishing that plunders the oceans of Latin America. The vessels also throw tons of waste into the sea, killing wildlife, polluting the waters, and destroying an ecosystem that is home to more than 7,000 endemic species.

Bottles, containers of marine oil, and Chinese-labeled jute bags have been accumulating on the beaches. Experts estimate that 30 percent of the garbage collected on the islands’ shores come from the Chinese fleets that fish off Ecuador’s coasts, Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, a biologist at Ecuador’s San Francisco de Quito University, said in a February 14, 2022 study on environmental website Mongabay.

Although there is no photographic evidence of Chinese crews dumping garbage into the sea, researchers and fishermen find Chinese-labeled containers in good condition, with current expiration dates. “Trash from Peru and Ecuador is carried by sea currents from the mainland, but it’s almost impossible for particles to reach Galápagos from China, floating against the current,” Muñoz-Pérez said. [...]