Park rangers from the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), in collaboration with scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), have discovered two new areas of Scalesia cordata on Sierra Negra volcano, located in southern Isabela Island. This discovery marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to preserve this critically endangered species, which has seen its natural habitat severely reduced.

Park rangers from the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), in collaboration with scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), have discovered two new areas of Scalesia cordata on Sierra Negra volcano, located in southern Isabela Island. This discovery marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to preserve this critically endangered species, which has seen its natural habitat severely reduced.

The seizure of 22,000 shark fins highlights contradictions in Ecuador’s shark trade. Although legal exports declined after CITES restrictions, shark landings remain high, much of the meat appears in domestic markets under different labels, and concerns over traceability, illegal trade, and fisheries governance continue to grow.