Swimming to Galapagos.

• Author: Ceaser, Mike
• Position: Author abstract

AROUND SAN CRISTOBAL, in the Galapagos Islands, many open-water swimmers would breathe a sigh of relief if the oceans were cleared of sharks. But keeping the sharks swimming nearby is the goal of Galo Yepez and Diego Quiroga, a pair of Ecuadorian swimming legends intent on saving the Galapagos Islands' biodiversity.

The two men made their marks in the swimming world in different ways. In 1997, Yepez, 50, became the first Ecuadorian to swim the English Channel. Quiroga, 45, represented Ecuador two decades ago in the Olympics and has set national and regional records. Today, Yepez and Quiroga are racing a much bigger opponent: the mounting impact of human beings on the islands' plants and animals. In particular, they want to bring attention to the slaughter of sharks for their fins, which are used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in China. Other goals include reversing deforestation and helping to make swimming more popular among the islands' youth.

The penguins, tortoises, and sea lions of the Galapagos draw tens of thousands of tourists every year. But the lively antics of these famous creatures also disguise the critical state of the islands' ecology. Today, several tortoise species are extinct and many native plants and animals are under siege by foreign species that prey on them and compete for resources and habitat. At the same time, the islands' human population of about 27,000 is growing fast due to high birthrates and immigration. This means more pollution, more cats and dogs that attack native animals, and more pressure to exploit the islands' territory, which is 97 percent national park.

On a recent training swim across a crowded beach area, Quiroga was accompanied by playful sea lions. But he also had to swim through an oil slick, probably the result of a ship's sloppy fueling, and on some days he swims through water tainted with sewage.

Island fishermen recognize that over fishing and pollution is endangering their livelihoods. Ricardo Castillo, a 25-year veteran of Galapagos fishing and a leader of a fishermen's cooperative, has seen the number of fishermen nearly triple and the size of their catch fall by three-fourths in recent years. "As time goes by, the fish are getting scarcer," he laments. But he nevertheless argues that shark fishing should be permitted.

When the government has tried to tighten limits on fish...