Mother Nature’s Domain

A no-fishing zone around the Galapagos Islands has been expanded from 15 to 40 nautical miles to protect the ecologically sensitive zone. Environmentalists have charged that vessels from North America, Japan and Ecuador are depleting fish stocks and damaging the ecosystem, as well as killing sea lions, sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, sea iguanas and birds around the islands. The archipelago, 600 miles west of Ecuador, is home to a variety of rare animal and plant species. Its extraordinary wildlife helped evolutionist Charles Darwin develop his theories about the natural selection of species.