The Fish Market

When you hear the words “fish market,” images of nicely filleted tuna and pre-cooked shrimp behind a glass case usually come to mind, occasionally accompanied by a tank full of live lobsters nearby. This is what I expected to see at the fish market in Puerto Lopez, a fishing town a little farther north from Los Piqueros. However, our trip there at 6:30am revealed a totally different kind of fish market, located right on the beach.

In Puerto Lopez, the fishing boats of many coastal residents come alongshore, or send smaller boats in between to bring their catches to the vendors waiting on the beach. Organization leaves some to be desired, as this “market” is basically a conglomeration of small boats, stray dogs, tons of men angling their necks to get a good look at what’s coming from the boats, and local women filleting freshly caught fish on makeshift tables in the sand. Frigate birds fly overhead diving at bins of small fish being carried from the boats to the shore, or aiming for forgotten fish scraps in the sand.

Unfortunately, shark fishing is more popular here than should be legally allowed. I was able to see a thresher shark and multiple hammerheads, none old enough to reach full size. Some of the hammerheads were so young they even had their umbilical cords still attached, but were still harvested for their fins. Shark meat is hardly worth harvesting in Ecuador, but the fins are shipped to Asia for the huge consumption there of shark fin soup. It’s pretty sad to see so many dead sharks on the sands of the beach there, and even worse to see them brutally cut up just for their fins. Hopefully we’ll be able to see some live sharks swimming in the Galapagos, where they are hopefully better preserved.