The Galapagos Whaleshark Project conducted a research trip during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but as Terry Smith from Pelagic Dive Travel explains, organising it was not a simple matter PHOTOGRAPHS BY GALAPAGOS WHALESHARK PROJECT
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ast year was tough. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in some way or form. When COVID first started to spread, international borders started shutting very quickly to stop the spread. If you were overseas away from your home country, you had to scramble to make a flight back before the borders were closed (unfortunately, some did not make it in time and are still trying to make it home…) The GWSP’s research trip was scheduled for June 2020, but as COVID-19 started to spread and international travel restrictions began to take hold, it was uncertain whether it would run. With several months waiting to see what would happen, there started to be a window of opportunity in July, as travel was just starting to be opened between Ecuador, the US and the Galapagos. They decided to push for July, but the permit and permission came through late, so the trip had to be rescheduled for August. Luckily at this time, the borders between the USA, Ecuador and the Galapagos were open, but not for most parts of the world, which meant their partners from AUS, NZ, US and Japan could not make it.
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WHAL This meant that the team numbers and the funding were down as the partners also contributed to the overall cost. A deal was stuck with a tuna-tagging programme that would help share the vessel and costs.
TRAVELLING IN THE PANDEMIC
Although travel was open for the team, it was a difficult trip to get there. Jon and Jenny had to travel into the US to pick up equipment, which meant a PCR test to get in, await results, a hotel stay, then back into mainland Ecuador, which meant another test (await results) and then 14 days in quarantine, then after that, over to the Galapagos for another PCR test (another wait on results) and a wait for the 72 hours for their equipment from the mainland to go through quarantine as well. Add to this the flight delays and flight restrictions compounded by the uncertainty that the borders may shut at any time, it was a hard few weeks.
ARRIVING IN THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
On arrival to the Galapagos in August, they noticed straight
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