Friday, May 22nd, 2026, marked the second workshop of the TBTI Ecuador hub.The goal was to share and discuss the chapters of TBTI Ecuador’s upcoming book as well as to define the network’s future horizon in Ecuador to increase the visibility and elevate small-scale fisheries’ issues to public officials.
A number of TBTI Global members, including TBTI Director and the coordinators of several TBTI hubs, attended the 2025 MARE Conference in Amsterdam, which took place on 24-27th of June.
The objective of the new TBTI Global project is to establish national networks, or hubs, of researchers and stakeholders in support of small-scale fisheries in five Latin American countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.
The Charles Darwin Foundation is hosting the online launch of their new book, ‘Mujeres de tierra y de mar,’ on November 21, at 15h00 (GTM-6). The book is a collection of testimonies and life experiences from women who have been part of the Galapagos artisanal fisheries.
Many marine biologists and conservationists have a dream of visiting the Galápagos Islands. And while plants and animals have been at the centre of scientific investigations, very few studies focus on the Galápagos communities, especially small-scale fisheries people who live on the islands and make their livelihoods from the sea.
This was why for many of us – the ‘first timers’ – the visit to the Galápagos was very special. We were there to witness the moment when colleagues in the Galápagos and the mainland Ecuador inaugurated TBTI Ecuador on May 10, 2023. This event marks the launch of the first chapter of TBTI Global in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
There are several areas that TBTI Ecuador will be focusing on in the near future. One of which is to support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the country, starting with increasing awareness about this important instrument among key stakeholders. This will be a great contribution to the 10th anniversary of the SSF Guidelines next year. We are looking forward to hearing more about TBTI Ecuador and to joining them again in celebrating their achievements.
This first chapter of TBTI Global in the Latin America and the Caribbean region was long in the making. Dr. María José Barragán Paladines, Science Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), one of the coordinators of TBTI Ecuador, has been doing research on small-scale fisheries in the Galápagos for more than a decade. In her current position, Dr. Barragán Paladines is collaborating with the CDF interdisciplinary fisheries team of researchers in forming the “Galápagos Fisheries Think Tank.” The main objective of the group is to enhance understanding and improvement of the management of marine socio-ecological systems in the islands through collaborative research, and by working with other key stakeholders, including the Galápagos National Park Service, fishers, and communities. Co-leading the project, and also TBTI Ecuador, with María José are César Viteri and Jorge Ramírez, senior researchers of the Charles Darwin Foundation, who have been working with small-scale fisheries communities and various levels of governments in improving knowledge and public awareness about the Galápagos for more than a decade.
The launch of TBTI Ecuador took place after the day-long lively discussion among key members, which, in addition to scientists at Charles Darwin Foundation, included a couple of small-scale fishers, representatives from the Galápagos National Park Service, environmental groups, researchers and government officials from the islands and the mainland.
María José Barragán Paladines currently is the Science Director at the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands. She is a long-lasting collaborator and member of the TBTI Global Partnership for Small-scale fisheries. Her research focus has been governability of MPAs under the Interactive Governance approach, food security from the sea and TD-based research for governance improvement within MPAs.
