By Nadia Kijanka
Like the journey to Isabela, setting out to dive Tortuga Islet 30 minutes off the main island proved to be tumultuous, but well worth the trouble. After having to wrap my feet in plastic bags to squeeze through the 1.5 millimeter wetsuit, clinging to my seat because we went airborne every time the boat hit a five-foot wave, shivering below the overcast sky, and power-peddling through see-saw waves that pulled me away from my group, I was skeptical the turnout of marine life would compensate for the diving conditions.
But to my delight, as soon as we descended 50 feet below the treacherous surface, I found myself swimming in the center of a vortex of fish, sea turtles, sea lions, five-foot white-tipped sharks and 10-foot hammerhead sharks. The sea felt like bathwater, thanks to the wet suit. The fish stared at me a few inches from my mask, more fascinated with me than I was with them. Sea lions shot through the water, scoping the holes in the lava reef where the smaller fish hide. The sharks dipped in and out of the murky distance, sneaking up towards us and turning away at the last terrifying minute. The current carried us alongside the slope of lava formations to our right and the vast blanket of open water to our left, stringing us through one spiraling parade of life after another.
So, I can attest that despite the risks of poor visibility, freezing depths and zigzagging currents, scuba diving the Galapagos is a must. You wouldn’t want to leave these islands knowing you might have witnessed what makes them so great—the underwater life.
People say that it’s a whole different world under the sea, but in the Galapagos the sea isn’t a world apart, it’s the world that sustains the one on land. The making and maintaining of the both the terrestrial and marine ecology truly starts under the sea. The Humboldt and the Cromwell currents, stroke the islands’ reefs, showering them with the nutrients on which the marine ecology depends. These cool, seasonal currents lure a mix of tropical to temperate fish—a diverse buffet for the leading predators of the coasts—the sea lions, sharks, and larger fish.
While swimming in the vortex, you can expect to see yellowtail surgeonfish fin to fin with gray grunts, porcupine fish next to kingfish, and needle fish with parrotfish, silvers and grays intermittently shuffled with bright yellows, reds and blues, all catching to the eye. Like the mainland animals, the marine fauna have a harmonious coexistence through symbiosis, in which several species living together mutually benefit off one another, according to dive master Maximo Cartagena of the Isabela Dive Center. During the day, the sharks peruse the shores so the remoras, or tiny fish, clean the microbes off their skin. Snails hitch rides on sea turtles’ backs. Schools of fish sway carelessly with the current, unafraid of their predators, since the sharks only hunt at night. While I was underwater, only one sea lion broke the peaceful trend, as he poked around the coral holes to snack on a few smaller fish. This natural flow of resources, starting with the currents, eventually trickles into the mainland. According to Michael H. Jackson’s "A Natural History," “Sea birds must fish, as did most of the human residents before tourism, and the marine iguanas dive to graze the algae…From the flies that feed on the sea lion carcasses to the hawk that eat marine iguanas and the owls that take storm petrels, the webs of life on land and in the sea are inextricably intertwined.”
People say that it’s a whole different world under the sea, but in the Galapagos the sea isn’t a world apart, it’s the world that sustains the one on land. The making and maintaining of the both the terrestrial and marine ecology truly starts under the sea. The Humboldt and the Cromwell currents, stroke the islands’ reefs, showering them with the nutrients on which the marine ecology depends. These cool, seasonal currents lure a mix of tropical to temperate fish—a diverse buffet for the leading predators of the coasts—the sea lions, sharks, and larger fish.
While swimming in the vortex, you can expect to see yellowtail surgeonfish fin to fin with gray grunts, porcupine fish next to kingfish, and needle fish with parrotfish, silvers and grays intermittently shuffled with bright yellows, reds and blues, all catching to the eye. Like the mainland animals, the marine fauna have a harmonious coexistence through symbiosis, in which several species living together mutually benefit off one another, according to dive master Maximo Cartagena of the Isabela Dive Center. During the day, the sharks peruse the shores so the remoras, or tiny fish, clean the microbes off their skin. Snails hitch rides on sea turtles’ backs. Schools of fish sway carelessly with the current, unafraid of their predators, since the sharks only hunt at night. While I was underwater, only one sea lion broke the peaceful trend, as he poked around the coral holes to snack on a few smaller fish. This natural flow of resources, starting with the currents, eventually trickles into the mainland. According to Michael H. Jackson’s "A Natural History," “Sea birds must fish, as did most of the human residents before tourism, and the marine iguanas dive to graze the algae…From the flies that feed on the sea lion carcasses to the hawk that eat marine iguanas and the owls that take storm petrels, the webs of life on land and in the sea are inextricably intertwined.”
Adding people to this delicate equilibrium is a challenge that requires a collective effort on behalf of the five sectors operating in the Galapagos. On Isabella, the Institutional Authority of Management facilitates the fishing, tour guide, tourism, scientific research and parks industries to reach balanced and fair conclusions when conflicts of interest arise. According to Francisco Ortuño, a member of Isabela’s fishing cooperative, any representative can request to convene and discuss an issue, and they must reach a unanimous decision. Ortuño stressed the importance of consensus.“The five must become one,” he said, referring to how all sectors must work together for the good of everyone.
It is not easy to make a switch from one career to the next, either. “Professions are not just something you can jump into,” Ortuño said. To be a fisherman, for example, you must be a permanent resident of the Galapagos Islands and have a father who was in the industry as well. After 10 years of being a fisherman, Cartagena successfully transitioned to being a dive master, thanks to international and government supported programs. Even with those, the change was tough. “Out of a class of 15, maybe four will continue on to practice the occupation,” Cartagena said. According to him, while tourism on land has been going for eight years in Isabela, scuba diving and snorkeling are relatively new, only about 4 years old.
It is not easy to make a switch from one career to the next, either. “Professions are not just something you can jump into,” Ortuño said. To be a fisherman, for example, you must be a permanent resident of the Galapagos Islands and have a father who was in the industry as well. After 10 years of being a fisherman, Cartagena successfully transitioned to being a dive master, thanks to international and government supported programs. Even with those, the change was tough. “Out of a class of 15, maybe four will continue on to practice the occupation,” Cartagena said. According to him, while tourism on land has been going for eight years in Isabela, scuba diving and snorkeling are relatively new, only about 4 years old.
Since the sea has become a hot spot for tourists and fishermen, the government has enacted regulations and zoning laws to sustain both the marine biodiversity and the fishing industry. Regulations specify which areas around islets like Tortuga are for water sports and which are for fishing. According to Daniel Rivas, agricultural engineer with the Charles Darwin Foundation, a private conservation organization, fishing is only legal 40 miles off the coast of the Galapagos, and certain marine animals are illegal to carry back into port.
The marine ecology has a huge bearing on the past and future of the Galapagos Islands. It is both the starting point for the life of the islands and sometimes the stronghold that bears the majority of their decline. As development and tourism grows on the islands, efforts are being pooled together to maintain the marine ecology and the underwater experience for people. I agree with Jackson when he says, “What little we can see of life in the sea is so different from our experiences on shore and so beautiful that we cannot fail to be enchanted yet again.” Every dive is worth the try.
Additional reporting by Nellie Gopaul
The marine ecology has a huge bearing on the past and future of the Galapagos Islands. It is both the starting point for the life of the islands and sometimes the stronghold that bears the majority of their decline. As development and tourism grows on the islands, efforts are being pooled together to maintain the marine ecology and the underwater experience for people. I agree with Jackson when he says, “What little we can see of life in the sea is so different from our experiences on shore and so beautiful that we cannot fail to be enchanted yet again.” Every dive is worth the try.
Additional reporting by Nellie Gopaul
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