One of the larger sea conservation areas in the world, the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) is also one of the more unique marine ecosystems due to its extraordinary confluence of warm and cold currents.
The endemic Galapagos sea lion is one of the more commonly sighted species. However often a short dive will bring into close view endemic and native sharks, rays, parrot fish, corals, sea cucumbers, and countless and colorful marine life.
One of the greatest and more recent threats to certain native and endemic marine life is industrial fishing. Given the vastness of the GMR, fishing has been difficult to control. In particular, the international market for shark fins and sea cucumbers, both popular in Asian cuisine, is a severe threat to those species.
Due to the ever-growing human and product transport by sea, thousands of introduced species also likely present in the GMR, since often they attach themselves to ships or otherwise are carried in ballast tanks. This is a relatively newer focus of research in Galapagos since the GMR was established in 1998, so CDF scientists are very busy quickly trying to inventory and monitor the marine life in the archipelago.
Native and endemic marine species / fish
Introduced marine species / fish
Native & endemic species
Introduced species
At risk species