Despite this claim, the Park has been one of the hardest hit regions by poaching and over-fishing. Darwin's fascination with the islands didn't save them from exploitation. Only fifty years after Darwin's landmark study, the islands were used as a base for whaling and sea lion hunting expeditions. Last year, the increasing trend in commercial fishing and poaching within the parks boundaries culminated in the death of a park warden. The incident had Ecuadorian park officials reeling in shock.
Sea cucumbers sit on the ocean floor where they process and filter waste.
Organic debris that settles on the sea floor is consumed by the cucumber. The animals are sometimes compared to earthworms on land because they feed on detritus and turn over the sea floor. Today, Isotichopus fiscus is threatened with extinction as a direct result of over-harvesting. In the early years of the trade, Park officials knew very little about the biology of the sea cucumber or the effects that harvesting would have on the marine ecosystem of the islands. In 1992, the Ecuadorian Government recognized the toll that the fast depredation of the sea cucumber was having on underwater natural resources and imposed a complete ban.