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Witness History: The Galapagos sea cucumber dispute

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The Galapagos sea cucumber dispute

30/04/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Galapagos sea cucumber dispute

How fishermen and conservationists battled in the species-rich waters of the archipelago

How a boom in demand for sea cucumbers in the 1990s set off a confrontation between fishermen and conservationists in the waters off the UN World Heritage archipelago.

A boom in demand for sea cucumbers in Asia in the 1990s set off a confrontation between fishermen and conservationists in the waters off the Galapagos islands, where the protein-rich sea creature was found in abundance. The high price being paid for the sea cucumbers led to a gold rush on the South American archipelago, a chain of 21 islands home to many unique wild-life species. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to a Galapagos fisherman and a British conservationist, who found themselves on opposite sides of the dispute. 

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

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