Birds and animals existing near the water has a variety of distinctive habitats and endemic species including the world's only sea-going lizard, the Marine Iguana . Other notable wildlife includes the Sea Lion, Fur Seal , Galapagos Penguin , Flightless Cormorant, Waved Albatross, Lava Gull and Swallow-Tailed Gull. The waters surrounding the Galapagos are home to 3000 species of marine plants and animals. In the past few years fishing in the Galapagos has boomed. Fishermen come with lines and nets hunting for tuna.
Divers seek lobsters and sea cucumbers.
During the 1990's fishing for sea cucumber to supply the Asian market greatly depleted that resource. Now even though illegal the fishing continues. Another lucrative and controversial practice is fishing for shark fins. These fishermen hunt the sharks merely for their fins, leaving the rest of the animal. This depletes the area of this important predator and the attraction of divers.