# Ocean Accountability — Ecuador / Galápagos
2026-09-08 · en

Protected waters, cargo routes and the rules beyond the boundary.

## A transport offense, not an invented catch location
The Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 judgment concerns protected-wildlife transport. It establishes forfeiture and an order for compensation; it does not establish that the carrier caught the animals itself. [S02]

## A second route: Ecuador to Hong Kong
Hong Kong Customs reported two large shark-fin seizures from Ecuador in 2020. Commercial shipment origin does not locate the fishing grounds or identify the catching fleet. [S53]

## Outside the reserve, different rules apply
The Southeast Pacific is also governed through SPRFMO. Its 2023 meeting in Manta recorded the dispute over two Chinese vessels refusing high-seas boarding. Do not relocate that event into Ecuador’s EEZ. [S61, S62]

## Open research questions
- Obtain the carrier’s final asset-disposition record and evidence of compensation actually collected.
- Trace documented cargo lots to supplier vessels; keep catch origin separate from the export port.
- Compare fishing authorizations, boarding records and the applicable maritime boundary on the event date.

Galápagos, mainland export routes and regional high-seas governance are connected subjects—not a single incident or proof of a common operator.

## Case files
- C01 — The cargo that cost a carrier its freedom: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/galapagos-carrier/
- C25 — Two containers from Ecuador, 26 tonnes of suspected protected shark fins: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/ecuador-hong-kong-fins/
- C28 — One fishing trip, three country-coded AIS identities: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/yong-xing-1-identity/
- C29 — When China instructed two vessels to refuse inspection: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/refused-inspections-2022/
- C14 — A large fleet. A rulebook. A compliance question.: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/squid-fleet-rules/

## Sources
- S02 — Case 20331-2017-00179: cassation decision (Ecuador, Corte Nacional de Justicia): https://www.derechosdelanaturaleza.org.ec/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PESCA-DE-TIBURON-EN-GALAPAGOS-SENTENCIA-CASACION.pdf
- S53 — Hong Kong Customs makes record seizure of smuggled scheduled dried shark fins (Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department): https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202005/06/P2020050600631.htm
- S61 — 11th SPRFMO Commission meeting report and annexes (SPRFMO): https://www.sprfmo.int/assets/Meetings/01-COMM/11th-Commission-2022-COMM11/COMM11-Report/SPRFMO-COMM11-Report-2023-with-annexes.pdf
- S62 — 10th Compliance and Technical Committee report (SPRFMO): https://sprfmo.int/assets/Meetings/03-CTC/10th-CTC-2023/SPRFMO-CTC10-Report-2023-final-with-Annexes.pdf

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