galápagos — marine reserve (experiential fishing)
Ordinary sport fishing is not allowed in the Marine Reserve. Tourists fish only on the experiential fishing tour, with a local fisherman authorized by the National Park.
Galápagos is a National Park and Marine Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and fishing is one of the most tightly controlled activities in the archipelago. For visitors, the only way to fish is the experiential fishing tour: a one-day trip with a Galápagos artisanal fisherman, on a boat authorized by the Galápagos National Park Directorate (DPNG), with an accredited guide and a maximum of 10 passengers. It uses trolling with one lure, a rod with a barbless hook, a rod with a spinning reel and a handline. Only the white-fish species (pesca blanca) listed in the park's fishing calendar may be kept, and the calendar changes every year; marlin, sailfish and swordfish are catch and release only, as a demonstration. Departures are from Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Puerto Villamil and the Itabaca Channel, with stops at authorized visitor sites, where fishing is not allowed.
best season
The tour runs year-round. From December to May the water is warmer and the sea is usually calmer; from June to November the water cools and the sea is rougher.
Local rules: Very restrictive rules. Under DPNG Resolution 0000009/2021, only Galápagos artisanal fishers authorized by the DPNG run the tour, and there are no new authorizations; maximum of 10 passengers, one trip per day, from 6 am to 6 pm, with an accredited guide; quota of 50 pounds of fish per trip, with no sale or donation, eaten by participants on board; billfish and swordfish on demonstration catch and release only; fishing is banned at visitor sites. The tourism regulation for protected areas prohibits fishing from tourist boats that are not experiential fishing boats, and tourist or sport spearfishing. Confirm the rules with the DPNG.
- getting there
- Flights from Quito and Guayaquil to Baltra (then a ferry across the Itabaca Channel and road to Puerto Ayora) and to San Cristóbal. There is an entrance fee to the National Park.
- facilities
- Experiential fishing operators authorized by the DPNG in the inhabited ports, hotels and inns in Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and Puerto Villamil.
- country
- Galápagos, Ecuador
tip
Only hire an operator who shows the Park's experiential fishing authorization. The fish is for the meal on board, not to take home.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
what you can catch here
before you fish in Ecuador
The Organic Law for the Development of Aquaculture and Fishing (2020) gives the fisheries governing body, the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries, the role of authorizing and regulating sport fishing (art. 124); spearfishing requires prior authorization and registration. License requirements are set in the law's regulation: before fishing on the mainland, confirm with your boat operator and the Vice Ministry what is required of the angler. In the Galápagos there is no sport fishing license for tourists: the only way to fish is the experiential fishing tour, with a local fisher authorized by the DPNG.
- Galápagos: tourists only fish on the experiential fishing tour, with an artisanal Galápagos fisher authorized by the DPNG, an accredited guide and a maximum of 10 passengers per boat. Billfish and swordfish only in demonstration catch and release; quota of 50 pounds of fish per trip, no sale (DPNG Res. 0000009/2021).
- Mahi-mahi (dorado): Ministerial Agreement 070/2011 set a closed season for targeted fishing from July 1 to October 7 and a minimum size of 80 cm total length. Confirm whether the rule is still the same.
- In protected areas, sport fishing follows the management plan and zoning of each area, under the environmental authority (Organic Law of Aquaculture and Fishing, art. 127).
The rules and closed seasons in the rest of the app are Brazilian. Outside Brazil, the regulations of the country and province apply: confirm with the official agency.
sources and references
Access, facilities and season information changes: check with the lodge, a local guide or the city hall before you travel.
- official Parque Nacional Galápagos — Resolución 0000009/2021, normas de manejo do tour de pesca vivencialSigned Feb 4, 2021; quota, gear, billfish release only, ports and visitor sites
- official Parque Nacional Galápagos — Resolución 0000026/2022 (cita o Reglamento Especial de Turismo en Áreas Naturales Protegidas)In the considerations: fishing from tourist boats that are not experiential fishing boats is prohibited, as is tourist or sport spearfishing
- official Parque Nacional Galápagos — Reserva Marina